The Eagles' quiet rookie who doesn't say “much” saves his talking for games: “He plays with swagger”

PHILADELPHIA – When Eagles cornerback Avonte Maddox brought rookie Cooper DeJean to a New Jersey golf course last summer to play a 2-on-2 match with his teammates, both Maddox and safety Reed Blankenship tried to coax DeJean to the to move speeches.

DeJean, a 21-year-old cornerback from Iowa, has a calm demeanor. He doesn't speak very often and doesn't say much during a conversation.

BUY EAGLES TICKETS: STUBHUB, LIVING SEATS, TICKETMASTER

Every time DeJean spoke that day, Maddox and Blankenship looked at each other and laughed. They were surprised to hear him speak after months of silence.

After moving across the country, DeJean took a while to get used to his new teammates and life in a big city. Now he jokes with his locker room friends and explores different venues.

“It’s been a lot different, but I’m starting to get used to it and figure out where things are,” DeJean told NJ Advance Media. “I enjoyed my time. I have tried many different food places that are pretty good. There's a good little pizzeria that I tried last week. There is a chicken shop I like: Love & Honey Fried Chicken, I love this place. The food. People are warmly welcomed. The fans are passionate. I love that.”

DeJean, a second-round pick, has also become more confident on the field. After missing most of training camp with a hamstring injury, he needed more time to familiarize himself with Vic Fangio's defensive system and needed to shake off the rust, so the Eagles made him available as a backup for the first four weeks of the season .

After the bye week, DeJean became the starting nickel cornerback. He collected 10 tackles, a half-sack and provided good coverage in his first two starts. The Eagles will need him to play well in the next 11 games, including Sunday's difficult matchup against Bengals wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

“It’s important for me to just make sure I stay on top of my football game,” DeJean said. “I'm here most of the day. Most of it is football. When I go home I'll watch the tape a bit. Also try to balance my personal life. Talking to people, my friends at home, whatever it is. So I find a little bit of balance when I'm not at home. I fall back on them, but also stay focused and prepare myself mentally and physically for football.”

Last month, DeJean became the Eagles' punt returner after Britain Covey went on injured reserve. He has gained 102 yards since Week 3, averaging 11.3 yards per return and rushing for 28 yards in the Eagles' dominant win over the New York Giants last Sunday.

DeJean said he could “change the game” as a returner. But if Covey returns from injury, the Eagles could let him return punts again and get DeJean to focus on defense.

“He's the type of guy, if you picture him as a kid, you know he was the kid that was good at everything,” Covey said. “You can get him into golf and in a few years he’ll be really damn good. You can send him to table tennis. You can use him for any sport because he is athletic and has excellent hand-eye coordination.”

“Disguised”

DeJean will be at the Eagles' facility every day from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. He learns from defensive backs Darius Slay, CJ Gardner-Johnson and James Bradberry, among others. The veterans told DeJean that he needed to take care of his body and stay focused during training and meetings.

DeJean asks his teammates and coaches questions to “see eye to eye with them.” He said learning different calls for each specific game plan was the hardest part of the transition, but his teammates say he did a good job mastering the concepts.

“He’s really good at knowing where to be on certain calls,” Maddox said. “Even when we say he's closing the zones or being in the right spot and following the quarterback's eyes. He just makes plays.”

Eagles defensive tackle Thomas Booker was impressed with DeJean's maturity.

“I think he’s one of those guys that’s in disguise,” Booker said. “You wouldn’t say he was a newcomer or that he had been here five to seven years.”

Pro Football Focus gave DeJean's Week 7 performance the third-highest grade (86.3) among NFL cornerbacks. As the season progresses, he could develop into one of the league's rising defensive stars.

“His poise (is impressive),” Eagles practice squad wide receiver Parris Campbell said. “He goes in there and he's just balanced, like he's not messed up at all. I think this is good for a newbie. When he's out on the field you can see he's just confident. He knows he can run. He just plays with that swagger, man. It’s cool to see.”

“I didn’t know he could dance”

Eagles cornerback Isaiah Rodgers has seen DeJean “become a lot more open off the field” in recent weeks. DeJean makes his teammates laugh when he recites rap lyrics. He sings in the hallways and on the practice field and sometimes dances to the music.

“He’s got a lot,” Eagles rookie wide receiver Johnny Wilson said. “I saw that in training today. Actually, that's the craziest thing. I had to laugh. I thought, 'Man, he doesn't have to dance.' But he can dance, that's the funny thing about it. I think he danced to (rapper) BlocBoy JB with Reed Blankenship, stepbrothers right there. It was funny as hell. He did the “shoot” dance move with Reed. I thought, 'Okay.'”

Campbell said that DeJean “doesn't say much,” but trash talks about his teammates and that gives him “an advantage.” He believes DeJean is a better trash talker than Eagles rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who scolded Eagles wide receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith during training camp and complained about the loss in Week 4 Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans made fun of.

“It’s more quiet trash talk,” Campbell explained.

After the Eagles' 20-16 victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 6, Rodgers said DeJean spoke loudly to help him and other teammates understand their assignments. Maddox also said DeJean has done good communication since passing him for the starting job.

DeJean is also proud of himself.

“Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to play at the highest level,” DeJean said. “I want to be one of the best. … I just want to come in and take full advantage of the opportunities I have on the field and impact this team in any way I can.”