When the Eagles hosted puppy yoga at the NovaCare Complex in late September for those affected by cancer, all the attention was on the 10-plus dogs in attendance.

Then, Cooper DeJean walked in.

Within minutes, there was a line of fans waiting to get a picture, autograph, anything, from the Eagles' second-year defensive back. It took DeJean about 15 minutes to even say hello to one of the dogs.

This is the new reality for DeJean, who has quickly turned into one of the most popular Eagles around.

Before the start of the 2024 season, Eagles Entertainment interviewed the rookies and asked how many Instagram followers they each have. DeJean had 180,000 before the season.

He now has more than 1.1 million.

His infamous pick-six off Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl is an iconic Philadelphia sports moment. Since then, DeJean's fame has skyrocketed. Quickly.

"It's been crazy. The last year, a lot of things have changed fast," DeJean said. "It's been taking some getting used to, obviously, but it's been fun. I've got to do a lot of cool things, experience a lot of things. But [I'm] still the same guy, still the same person. Nothing's really changed about myself, I'm still me. But a lot of stuff around me has changed."

With everything around DeJean that has shifted, the one constant has been football. DeJean said being at the facility every day has been a getaway from his new life off the field.

"It's like a breath of fresh air whenever I walk in this building and see all these guys just laughing and joking around, feeling like a kid," he said. "You don't gotta really be looking over your shoulder if someone's coming up to talk to you or something like that. You can just be you within the locker room, so that's been great."

DeJean established himself as one of the best players in the NFL as a rookie (he was ranked No. 60 in a preseason poll by his peers), and he has only kept that going in Year 2. Through six games, DeJean has 35 tackles, five passes defended, and two tackles for loss, putting him on pace to shatter his numbers from 2024.

He has entered a more versatile role as well, playing outside cornerback in Philadelphia's base defense. He didn't leave the field for a single defensive snap over the first five weeks as a key chess piece in Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio's scheme.

"He's just a [heck] of a football player [who] I'm glad we have," Fangio said.

As hectic as DeJean's life off the field has been, it has also presented some unique opportunities. This offseason he got to sit ringside at UFC events and went to the Kentucky Derby, where he walked down a red carpet for the first time. "It was a little weird. I didn't really know what to do," DeJean said with a laugh.

The biggest change, he said, is how often he gets recognized in public. Even when he goes out wearing a hat, people still figure out it's him.

"It's been taking a little getting used to," DeJean said.

Things have transformed since DeJean filmed that video with Eagles Entertainment three days before his NFL debut. Last month's puppy yoga class was a prime example of just how popular the 22-year-old from Iowa has become.

But through it all, the one thing that has remained the same is football.

"Whenever I'm in the building or out on the field, I feel like myself, feel free, feel like a little kid," he said. "This is what I love to do. It's great to have football and have these guys around me. Just to laugh and play the game that we all love." — Written by Matt Ryan