What Cooper DeJean Playing Safety Means For Eagles Defense Moving Forward

The Philadelphia Eagles secondary will look different in 2026 -- sort of.

In an effort to make sure Cooper DeJean is on the field at all times, the Eagles will have DeJean play safety in a base defense this year. While the Eagles don't deploy a base defense often, DeJean will be on the field in the 8-to-10% of the time they do.

DeJean will move to the slot when the Eagles go to the nickel defense, which opens up the safety competition next to Andrew Mukuba. The front runner for the job is Marcus Epps, but Vic Fangio mentioned the other candidates in play.

"When we go to nickel and Coop comes up and plays nickel, it'll be Epps," Fangio said. "We're taking a good look at Michael Carter back there. Andre Sam. Then we signed an undrafted free agent, Gush (Kapena Gushiken). J.T. Gray has been mainly a special teams player, but he'll get a look.

"We'll look at all those guys. It's an open competition."

With DeJean going to safety in a base defense, what does it actually mean for the Eagles secondary going forward?

The safety competition

Marcus Epps is the leader in the clubhouse when DeJean isn't at safety, and that's going to be over 80% of the time.

Don't be fooled. The Eagles don't run base defense a lot, so this is just a way to keep DeJean on the field. When DeJean is in the slot, Epps is in the lead to play opposite Mukuba.

"I was pleasantly surprised," Fangio said. "When he had to play last year, he came in and showed his experience, showed his instincts that he has for the game. I was pleased with the way he played last year.

"I wasn't considering him an old player at this point, but he's obviously a veteran. I think he'll do fine. I'm not sure what his injury history has been, but I think if he stays injury-free and if he wins the job, we'll be fine."

The Eagles have not spent a lot of cash at safety, only spending $8.05 million at the position -- 31st in the NFL. They are banking on Epps to be adequate enough to play well, so they have a proven player on a team-friendly contract when there are other players making bigger money at premium positions.

Whether the Eagles add a safety later this offseason is up in the air, but they want to give Epps the opportunity to win the job.

What can DeJean give the Eagles at safety

This is a way for the Eagles to keep DeJean on the field for all the snaps. DeJean is like Malcolm Jenkins when he played with the Eagles, as it was impossible to take him off the field.

DeJean has never allowed a touchdown pass in the slot, and has scored more touchdowns than touchdowns allowed in coverage when playing the slot. The Eagles want a ballhawk and a playmaker at safety, which is where DeJean comes into play.

This is where the addition of Riq Woolen is key. Woolen is strictly an outside cornerback and will start there opposite of Quinyon Mitchell. This allows DeJean to concentrate on the slot and safety, instead of moving around the entire secondary.

Remember when the Eagles had DeJean play outside cornerback in training camp last year? Those days are in the past.

The Eagles have a player that is an All-Pro defensive back and can be an All-Pro safety if DeJean played there full time. Fortunately for the Eagles, DeJean doesn't have to play safety on every snap but they can still use him there as a way to keep him on the field.

Playing DeJean as much as Fangio can is a great thing. DeJean may even make a game-changing play or two at safety with enough opportunities.

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