You won't find a single Philadelphia Eagles fan looking to complain about Cooper DeJean as the 2025 season approaches. He's clearly already one of the best defenders on this Super Bowl roster, and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio clearly agrees.
Fangio is expanding DeJean's role to increase the impact he makes on the defense, but there is one player on the roster who might not like that news.
Cooper DeJean Expanding Role at New Position in Training Camp
ESPN's reports out of Eagles training camp highlight how much Fangio is expanding DeJean's role. Tim McManus reports that "Fangio said he'll get reps at outside corner as well as he searches for a way to keep Cooper on the field at all times." This is a massive step heading into his second season.
DeJean broke out as one of the NFL's slot cornerbacks in his rookie season, but that's almost exclusively where he lined up. Pro Football Focus, which ranked DeJean No. 4 among all corners with an 82.7 grade in 2024, shows him as having lined up at outside corner for just seven snaps all year (compared to 550 snaps at slot corner).
And it makes an awful lot of sense to try getting him involved on the outside. The defense's base personnel may include five defensive backs (three corners and two safeties), but having to take DeJean off the field in any two-CB sets just won't do. And that's where Kelee Ringo comes into play.
Kelee Ringo Losing "Starting" Job at Eagles Training Camp
Ringo, a 2023 fourth-round pick, was finally looking ready to earn a starting job this year. With Darius Slay gone, Ringo and free-agent addition Adoree Jackson are competing to start on the outside opposite Quinyon Mitchell. But if DeJean looks comfortable on the outside, some of that opportunity will be gone again.
DeJean would remove the opening at outside corner in any two-CB sets, and even in three-CB sets, the versatility will make it harder to earn reps. Ringo would not only be trying to fight off Jackson, but he'd suddenly be competing with backup slot corner Parry Nickerson, too (since DeJean could move to the outside on a more regular basis if Nickerson was playing significantly better than Ringo).
Ringo did grade out reasonably well on PFF last year (No. 64 among 222 qualifying cornerbacks with a 67.2 coverage grade), and the 23-year-old has prototypical size on the outside (6-foot-2, 207 pounds).
Ultimately, this is a good problem to have, and not something a good teammate will actually be upset about. If Ringo is feeling negativity around being replaced in certain sets by one of the team's best defenders, he should be using that as motivation to continue to work on improving his game. This is the reality of playing on a Super Bowl contender, and it's a challenge that top players should welcome with open arms.