NFL Scout Praises Eagles’ Cooper DeJean: ‘Bust Factor Is Really Low’ After 2024 Draft

One AFC scout believes newly-drafted Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean is destined to succeed in the NFL, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

“[DeJean] is good at everything— not sure he’s elite in one area but his bust factor is really low,” the scout said, per Fowler.

The Eagles plan to start the season with DeJean as an outside corner “and see what he can handle from there,” Fowler wrote. He noted that the team is “cognizant of giving him too many responsibilities too early, despite his versatility.”

The Eagles traded up in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft to snag DeJean, who played both safety and cornerback in three seasons at Iowa.

DeJean emphasized throughout the pre-draft process that he was ready to play cornerback in the NFL.

“I feel like I have the size and speed to do that,” he said about playing corner in March, per The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman. “I also understand that I can play multiple positions. I feel like I have the athleticism to play any position in the back end. It’s football, and I love to play football. So you put me on the field, I’m going to play football wherever I am.”

DeJean measured in at just under 6’1” and 203 pounds at the NFL Combine before running a solid 4.43-second 40-yard dash, but clocked a 31 1/8-inch arm span that raised some questions about his ability to provide coverage on the outside, Dochterman noted.

The Eagles using a pick as high as No. 40 to select DeJean seems to indicate they see him as a cornerback nonetheless.

If DeJean succeeds at the NFL level, as predicted by the AFC scout, he could potentially play on the other side of first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell, another cornerback out of Toledo.

If either Mitchell or DeJean earns a starting spot next season, they could be the first Eagles draft picks to become a regular starting corner since 2016 selection Jalen Mills, per NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben