Bowen: Eagles’ Vic Fangio can play Cooper DeJean at outside corner if he wants, but that is not what he wants

Vic Fangio was pretty clear Monday that he is not moving Cooper DeJean to outside corner, opposite Quinyon Mitchell.

Yet.

Taking into account everything the Eagles’ defensive coordinator said about the competition for that crucial starting job, I view the fact that DeJean practiced at the outside spot Monday for the first time as maybe seeing the baseball closer stand up, walk around the bullpen, do some stretching exercises, maybe grab a bucket of balls, when his team has a five-run lead but there are a couple runners on base and nobody out in the ninth.

Would DeJean be the best possible option opposite Mitchell? Yes. We knew that before camp started. Mitchell and DeJean are the best players in the Eagles’ secondary. But this isn’t the NFL of 15 years ago. Is having two dominant outside corners and being mediocre or worse at slot corner, along with being unproven at one safety spot (Andrew Mukuba? Sydney Brown?), a real recipe for success these days?

I don’t think so. DeJean helped transform the Eagles’ defense last year when he began to play a big role Week 5 of his rookie season. He made a big difference against the run and in pass defense over the middle. If you take him out of that role and don’t replace him with someone just as good, then to me, you’re not solving anything. You’re just changing the focus of the problem. 

Fangio acknowledged Monday that neither Kelee Ringo nor Adoree’ Jackson has done enough to secure a starting corner spot, two-and-a-half weeks before the regular-season opener vs. Dallas. Fangio denied that he was disappointed, but he allowed that “usually, it does become pretty obvious to everybody as to who’s going to win the job. That hadn’t happened yet. I think they all have done a good job in and of their own way. Had good moments, not so good moments. So, we haven’t reached that conclusion yet.”

I think the guy to watch here is Jakorian Bennett, acquired from the Raiders on Aug. 4. Seems to me people started making harsh judgments about Bennett the minute he stepped onto the practice field, conveniently forgetting that he just got here, had no prior experience in Fangio’s system. He looked OK Saturday against the Browns, even though he’s still learning the defense. Do we know enough yet to confidently say Bennett is the Week 1 starter opposite Mitchell? No. But I kinda think we’re going to get there, and the closer in the bullpen will eventually sit down.

I think that’s what Fangio thinks, as well, but he isn’t sure, can’t be sure, at this point.

“Jakorian just got here, got a full week last week,” Fangio said. “Need to give him a full opportunity with the other guys.”

There is a darkhorse candidate, fifth-round rookie Mac McWilliams, who has had his moments, but I don’t see him sealing the deal on a starting job. 

“Mac had that (quad) injury, which held him out of practice. I don’t know the exact amount of days, but we’ll call it a week, maybe, and I think it’s affected him, but hopefully he’ll feel more healthy this week, and we can see the true version of him,” Fangio said. “I think there’s more there than what we’re seeing and getting right now, and I think it’s probably more injury related and missing time related.”

Asked what he would need to see to move DeJean permanently to outside corner, Fangio said: “Someone to develop at the nickel position and someone not to develop at the corner position. And we haven’t seen Cooper play any corner either other than NCAA ball, so there’s a lot of unknowns there to be answered yet.”

We’re at the point with general manger Howie Roseman, after three Super Bowl appearances and two wins, where if you question literally anything Howie does, there’s a large contingent of the fan base that wants to burn you for a witch. But could ya really not afford two years and $11,045,000 for Isaiah Rodgers, which is what the Vikings paid? The man came back from missing the 2023 season due to a suspension to post a 73.2 overall Pro Football Focus defensive grade in 421 Eagles defensive snaps. I thought if the Eagles let Darius Slay walk, Rodgers would be the obvious replacement. 

But no. Howie likes his draft picks, and Ringo was a 2023 fourth-rounder with size (6-2, 207) and skill (4.36 40-yard dash). Ringo’s snap percentage actually declined from 2023 to 2024, 17 percent to 11 percent, after Fangio arrived. Howie and Vic might not have the same perspective on Ringo. It happens. And it’s Fangio’s defense, bottom line. Ringo took third-team reps in Monday’s practice.

I remember that 2023 draft, and the reports about Ringo. They noted all his attributes, but also noted that he didn’t always use them, had trouble tracking deep balls, and took a lot of dumb penalties. He lasted until the fourth round, All that still seems to be the case.

If I were Howie, I might see if the Bengals would take Ringo and next year’s first-round pick for edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, the reigning NFL sack champion. I still think edge rush is the 2025 Eagles’ biggest weakness, and if Nolan Smith or Jalyx Hunt goes down, it could be an absolute disaster.

And I would trust Fangio to get Bennett up to speed at outside corner. With DeJean a call to the bullpen away, just in case.