There are few things more intimidating to consider in the course of an NFL season than having to tackle Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry, a 6-foot-3, 247-pound force of nature.
Yet, somehow, when Henry came up against 6-foot, 198-pound Philadelphia Eagles rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean in Week 13, it was Henry who ended up flying through the air, backwards, off his feet, and slammed into the turf midway through the fourth quarter.
It was a viral moment that punctuated the Eagles’ 24-19 win — Philly’s eighth consecutive victory to improve them to 10-2 on the season and keep them firmly in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
“That’s insane!” Sports Illustrated’s Alexis Chassen wrote about the tackle. “Defenders don’t usually just pick Henry up while trying to stop him from running them over, and there’s a reason for that.”
DeJean’s tackle of the former NFL Offensive Player of the Year and 2-time NFL rushing champion seemed to be the signature play of the game for the Eagles, who cemented themselves as Super Bowl contenders with the victory.
“The Eagles out-toughed (the Ravens) and not just in terms of, OK, they beat them but even looking at some of these plays,” said The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia on “The Philly Special” podcast. “I mean, the play that’s going to always stick out to me in this game is Cooper DeJean picking up … he picked up Derrick Henry. Who does that? Who picks up Derrick Henry? He’s a rookie.”
DeJean Called One of ‘Biggest Steals’ of ’24 Draft
The Eagles selected DeJean out of Iowa in the second round (No. 40 overall) in the 2024 NFL draft after he was named an All-American, Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year and Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year in 2023.
The 33rd Team’s Jeff Diamond put DeJean on his list of the “Biggest Steals” from the 2024 NFL draft ahead of the Week 13 game against the Ravens.
“DeJean is the Eagles’ starting nickel corner and has contributed 30 tackles and five passes defensed to the team’s top-ranked defense,” Diamond wrote. “He was picked in the second round (No. 40 overall) as the fourth cornerback off the board. DeJean is one of the big contributors (along with first-round corner Quinyon Mitchell) to the massive improvement in Philadelphia’s pass defense that is ranked third after falling to 31st last season when they were a major cause of the team’s late-season collapse.”
DeJean Dropped to Eagles After Run on Offense
DeJean dropped to the second round as a byproduct of a record-setting run on offensive players in the 2024 draft. An NFL record 23 offensive players were taken in the first round, including a record number of quarterbacks (6) and wide receivers (7).
NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein had DeJean projected as a surefire first round pick in his pre-draft evaluation even though he wound up going in the second round and signing a 4-year, $9.28 million contract.
“DeJean is big and bundled for a cornerback, with muscular arms and tight hips,” Zierlein wrote. “… His best football is played with his eyes forward, using his instincts to challenge quarterbacks and his big downhill burst to smack whatever needs smacking.”
