As far as memorable birthdays go, this one will be hard to top.
Philadelphia Eagles rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean electrified the crowd at the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans with a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs to give his team a 17-0 lead with 7:03 left in the second quarter of Super Bowl LIX — and he did it on his 22nd birthday.
DeJean picked off Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes and weaved his way across the field and found paydirt in the end zone, setting off a wild celebration on the Eagles sideline. It was also DeJean’s first career interception.
From PFSN’s official X account: “Cooper DeJean is the 2nd rookie with a pick-6 in Super Bowl history. The other was Reggie Phillips on the 1985 Bears vs. the Patriots in Super Bowl XX. Also, this pick-6 happened on Patrick Mahomes’ first interception in 733 career playoff pass attempts.”
DeJean had 7 interceptions during an All-American career at the University of Iowa, including 3 returned for touchdowns in 2022.
Eagles Have Pair of Elite Rookie Cornerbacks
The Eagles made the brilliant move to draft cornerbacks with their first 2 picks in the 2024 NFL draft, selecting Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell in the first round (No. 22 overall), then DeJean in the second round (No. 40 overall).
As rookies, Mitchell became the Eagles starting cornerback from Game 1 and when DeJean was inserted into the starting lineup the duo soon after and they became not just two of the NFL’s best rookies but two of the NFL’s best cornerbacks.
The 33rd Team’s Jeff Diamond put DeJean on his list of the “Biggest Steals” from the 2024 NFL draft on November 27.
“DeJean is the Eagles’ starting nickel corner and has contributed 30 tackles and five passes defensed to the team’s top-ranked defense,” Diamond wrote. “He was picked in the second round (No. 40 overall) as the fourth cornerback off the board. DeJean is one of the big contributors (along with first-round corner Quinyon Mitchell) to the massive improvement in Philadelphia’s pass defense that is ranked third after falling to 31st last season when they were a major cause of the team’s late-season collapse.”
DeJean Listed Among Worst Pro Bowl Snubs
DeJean showed he was one of the NFL’s best during the regular season, including an amazing stat line in coverage.
From MLFootball.com’s official X account: “SUPERSTAR: #Eagles rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean was targeted 73 times, and he did NOT allow a single touchdown … Cooper DeJean is ELITE.”
NFL.com’s Kevin Patra put DeJean on his list of the worst Pro Bowl snubs after he was left off the NFC’s roster for the Pro Bowl Games. According to PFF, DeJean’s 82.7 overall grade for the 2024 regular season ranked him fourth out of 223 NFL cornerbacks. He finished the season with 51 tackles, 3 TFL, 6 pass deflections, 3 fumble recoveries and 1 forced fumble.
“The rookie has been sensational since entering the lineup in Week 6, proving to be the top slot corner in the NFL,” Patra wrote on January 2. “His EPA when targeted (-28.3) is the best mark among all nickel backs and No. 2 among all defensive backs. His -0.46 EPA per target ranks second among all corners (minimum of 300 coverage snaps), behind only Pat Surtain II. DeJean is allowing a league-low 4.8 yards per target when aligned in the slot (minimum of 20 targets) and hasn’t given up a TD as a slot defender, with five passes defended.”
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