Hidden Gems: Eagles’ Secondary Boasts Breakout Stars
The future of the Philadelphia Eagles’ secondary is in good shape with rookie cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean growing up right before our eyes.
The first and second-round pick both logged another solid performance in Week 10’s 34-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
They each allowed only two receptions on four and five targets.
Mitchell forced a tight window on three of his four targets, allowing just 14 yards as the nearest defender in coverage.
Meanwhile, DeJean allowed a catch rate over expected of -22.9%, allowing just five yards across his five targets. The Iowa product is currently the second-highest-graded cornerback in the NFL (83.6) and has the highest coverage grade (85.9) heading into Week 11’s game versus the Washington Commanders.
The crazy part about all of this is that these two are just getting started.
“It’s going to be great, man,” Eagles’ veteran cornerback Darius Slay said of the future of Philly’s secondary. “I’m going to be very excited when I leave this game because this room is going to be very much taken care of with these guys. They do it the right way. They listen, they learn, and they go out there and practice each and every day.”
Slay has been banged up for a few games this season but the two young bucks have had zero issues stepping up.
“I really never worry about them,” Slay said. “As a rookie, sometimes you gotta worry about some folks. You don’t have to worry about those guys. They’re dialed in. We meet every day. They ask questions. They’re like I was as a rook – they ask questions. A lot of rookies sometimes are scared to ask questions. Those guys aren’t. So I know what they’re capable of doing.”
The Eagles’ rookies face a tough task against the Commanders on Thursday night, but with the way things are going for them so far, they shouldn’t have much trouble shutting down Jayden Daniels and his weapons.
