ESPN puts a ton of pressure on Eagles' Cooper DeJean ahead of 2025 NFL season

It's only Year 2 for Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Cooper DeJean, but there are a lot of expectations for him in 2025. 

ESPN recently named the NFL's top luxury players and listed DeJean as the league's best slot cornerback.

Here is everything ESPN had to say about DeJean and their reasoning behind why he's already among the league's elite: 

Yes, he's already there. DeJean spent the first month of his rookie season on the sideline, but after Philadelphia's Week 5 bye, his move into the starting lineup coincided with a massive defensive improvement. After ranking 26th in expected points added (EPA) per play on defense before the bye, the Eagles were comfortably the league's best defense by the same metric afterward -- the second-place Texans ranked closer to 13th than they did to first.

It would probably be unrealistic to suggest DeJean was the single driver of those improvements, but he certainly served as a revelation in the secondary. From Week 6 onward, his minus-22.7 EPA allowed as the nearest defender in coverage ranked second in the league, with fellow rookie standout Nate Wiggins the only cornerback ahead of him, per NFL Next Gen Stats. He didn't allow a single touchdown on 68 targets. And while he didn't record any interceptions during the regular season, you might remember what he did to Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl.

With the Eagles releasing Darius Slay, DeJean will play outside more often in 2025, as he'll likely start outside in their base defense and work out of the slot in sub packages. He was in coverage as an outside cornerback on just six snaps last season, none of which came during the postseason. He moved all around the backfield in college at Iowa, which should help his chances of handling the added responsibilities. A dominant rookie season also bodes well for his chances of being a great NFL cornerback regardless of where he lines up pre-snap.

It's no secret that DeJean made a strong impression in his rookie year, holding it down in the slot and racking up 51 tackles, three interceptions, and a forced fumble. His performance was impressive enough to earn him a spot as a finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

While the Eagles want to continue to use DeJean in the slot, they also plan to cross-train him at outside cornerback and safety. 

It will be a lot for the young defensive back, but he's made it clear that he can handle whatever the Eagles throw at him this fall.