Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean is one of the best at his position in this draft class, and there may be even more to unlock with the right NFL coaches.
The 2024 scouting combine is right around the corner, which means that it’s time to take a more critical and detailed look at this year’s draft prospects. With that in mind, we here at Touchdown Wire are doing as many thumbnail scouting reports as possible before the combine gets going on February 29. We will of course be doing more comprehensive reports before the draft, but here’s a good starting point.
Our next subject for evaluation is Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean. In 2023, his third season on the field for the Hawkeyes, DeJean was a leader in Iowa’s top-tier defense, allowing 20 catches on 46 targets for 194 yards, 44 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, two interceptions, four pass breakups, and an an opponent passer rating of 37.8 — which means that opposing quarterbacks had as much luck throwing the ball into the dirt as they did targeting him.
Unfortunately, DeJean suffered a lower leg injury in mid-November, which ended his 2023 season early and will prevent him from working out at the combine. But as they say, tape don’t lie, and DeJean’s tape is full of compelling reasons to take him seriously as a first-round cornerback prospect who can shut things down outside and in the slot,
PLUSES
— Opposing offenses kept trying to beat him with comebacks and stop routes in off coverage, and he kept making them look silly with outstanding recovery speed.
— Tremendous in bail coverage where he’ll work back to or though the receiver to take the ball away.
— Expert route-jumper.
— Rarely played press in his 2023 targets, but has most of the skills to match and follow.
— Closes with nasty intentions on screens and swing passes.
— Times his hits to deflect and has no issue whatsoever getting grimy in the run game. Tough guy.
MINUSES
— Might take a second to become a great press cornerback at the NFL level; he’ll get a bit lost at the top of the route stem.
— Tracks the ball as a receiver would and is able to throttle up and down accordingly, but he could be better at keeping his eye on the receiver.
— Hesitates at times to match targets; this may because he played an inordinate amount of off coverage. His NFL coaches should work on DeJean trusting his technique through the rep and not thinking too much.
As good as DeJean was in college, I think there’s some unlocked potential as a press/match DB. Hopefully, he’ll go to an NFL team that just wants him to hunt.
