In their ugly Week 12 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles made a surprising switch in the secondary, as they moved second-year cornerback Cooper DeJean from the slot to the outside when Adoree’ Jackson exited the game in the second half to be evaluated for a concussion.
The decision to take DeJean out of the slot and throw him into the fire on the outside was a bold move by Eagles’ defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, as the Eagles had Kelee Ringo and Jakorian Bennett active. However, Fangio believed DeJean was the best option at CB2, which didn’t turn out great for the young cornerback.
DeJean struggled as CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens torched him for four receptions (five targets) for 148 yards, per Pro Football Focus. Despite that performance against the Cowboys, Fangio isn’t wavering in his decision to put DeJean on the outside. In fact, he’s doubling down on the idea heading into the Black Friday matchup against the Chicago Bears.
According to Eliot Shorr-Parks of Sportsradio 94WIP, Fangio told reporters on Tuesday that DeJean will likely start at CB2 if Jackson can’t play.
This was rather surprising to hear, given that the Eagles have Bennett and Ringo both healthy, who could easily fill in for Jackson. However, it's clear that Fangio must not trust Bennett and Ringo and would rather run it back with DeJean on the outside.
Eagles Not Yet Ready to Trust Michael Carter II at Safety Spot
If DeJean is starting on the outside, opposite of Quinyon Mitchell, it means Michael Carter II will likely get the start in the slot.
There was a thought Carter could play at safety alongside Sydney Brown, if Reed Blankenship were to miss Friday’s game.
However, Fangio said that he expects the veteran safety to play, but also mentioned that Carter has been the fourth safety for the last few weeks, which is worth noting. If the Eagles decided to go with Carter at safety, it could’ve kept DeJean in the slot (his best position), and they would either put Ringo or Bennett on the outside.
But maybe the long-time defensive coordinator wants to see how Brown fares in Friday’s game before making another drastic switch. Eagles fans are already at their wits' end with Brown, so it won’t take much for them to call for a change.
As for DeJean, the hope is that he fares better on the outside as he won’t have to cover Lamb and Pickens. Instead, it will be Rome Odunze and D.J. Moore, who pose their own problems that Mitchell and DeJean will have to contend with.
However, Carter will also likely see a fair share of Odunze, who has played 189 snaps out of the slot for the Bears this season, per StatRankings.com. Therefore, Carter will have his hands full as well.
After the Week 12 debacle, it will be interesting to see if the Eagles going back to DeJean at CB2 will pay huge dividends, or look like a disaster that will cause more reshuffling at the CB spot.