Versatile Eagles' Rookie Brings Up Memories of Malcolm Jenkins

In the college recruiting world they call it athlete when a newcomer arrives to campus without a concrete plan of where they might play.

In some cases, schools may still be trying to figure out where to play a prospect to take advantage of their abilities, and in others, the player may be so gifted that he can play multiple sports, never mind multiple spots.

Count Philadelphia Eagles' new defensive back Cooper DeJean in the latter category.

The secondary is the No. 40 overall pick’s domain but that might mean cornerback, slot, safety or big nickel in Vic Fangio’s defense. DeJean, a Sioux Falls native, split his time at quarterback and defensive back in high school and left OA-BCIG, a consolidated school in Ida Grove, Iowa, with numerous school records.

As a senior, DeJean passed for 3,447 yards with 35 touchdowns and rushed for 1,235 more and 24 touchdowns. South Dakota State, an FCS powerhouse, offered DeJean the opportunity to play quarterback but with his eyes on the NFL prize, the prized prospect went the Power 5 route as a defensive back.

The rest is history.

DeJean, though, also ran track in high school and played baseball and basketball. If you’re tooling around on YouTube, you might find videos of the 6-foot-1 DeJean exploding off the floor and dunking the basketball with ease while flashing the kind of skill that perhaps could help the moribund Philadelphia 76ers in their scheduled Game 5 execution against the New York Knicks before Eagles rookie minicamp starts this weekend.

Hyperbole aside, DeJean can do it all to the point the Eagles scaled back the talk that was prevalent when Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell was selected No. 22 overall on Thursday night.

“For us, the most important thing he focuses on one thing as a rookie,” GM Howie Roseman said. “That's Coach and his staff's choice, but when we talk about him, we talk about him as an outside corner and kind of working from there.”

A day later it was a different story with DeJean, right from the designation. He wasn’t listed as a cornerback or safety but as a defensive back and that small detail should not go unnoticed.

“I think whatever he does he’s going to do at a high level,” Roseman said. “Obviously we’ll get him in here, and like everything else on this team, see how the pieces fit when Coach [Nick Sirianni] and his staff get their hands on these guys.”

DeJean embraces his versatility, which also includes the return game. His easiest path to playing time as a rookie with the Eagles might not even be the secondary – it might be in the big nickel as the third safety mimicking a linebacker’s typical role.

At Iowa, DeJean was a top-tier outside CB but he also played the “Cash" position, essentially a rover that was a hybrid safety-linebacker.

NFL teams were conflicted with some projecting DeJean to CB and others to the nickel or safety. The last player with DeJean-like versatility in Philadelphia was former Pro Bowl defensive back Malcolm Jenkins. The current comp might be Minnesota’s Josh Metellus, who played everywhere in Brian Flores; unique defense.

Where DeJean winds might even vary from play to play.

“I’m a football player,” DeJean said. “You put me on the field and I’m going to go play football, whether it’s inside, outside, at safety, wherever it is.”

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