The more you know, the better you play. That's the approach Cooper DeJean is taking in his third year with the Eagles, a do-it-all weapon for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. DeJean is a movable chess piece used by Fangio as an outside cornerback, an inside slot cover man, and a safety.

If you think back to the days of Brian Dawkins as an Eagle and the incredible tools he brought to Jim Johnson's defenses, you can better grasp what DeJean means for Fangio: A matchup piece who wins wherever he lines up.

Fangio announced early in the spring that DeJean would be the starter for the Eagles at safety in base personnel packages and then would move to slot cornerback in nickel personnel. This is something that DeJean tasted last season when he played 139 snaps at safety (685 snaps at nickel cornerback and 245 snaps at outside cornerback), adding to his all-in impact in the secondary.

"I feel like I've gotten to learn all the roles in this defense pretty well," said DeJean, an All-Pro and Pro Bowl player in the 2025 campaign. "I'm excited for the challenge of trying to perfect that position (safety) rather than going back and forth from safety to corner to nickel last year, kind of just sticking to that safety and nickel spot now.

"I've been preparing to play all the positions since I got here (as a second-round draft pick in 2024)."

Fangio has said in the past that the safety and nickel positions are similar in this defense in the way the techniques are played and the responsibilities in both the pass and run games. With his speed, physicality, and cerebral abilities, DeJean is able to deliver what Fangio wants. As Dawkins in his dominating days of the 2000s when Johnson used him as a cover safety, a box safety, a linebacker in the running game and a blitzer who reached the quarterback, Fangio can utilize DeJean in a multitude of ways and know that DeJean, even at this early stage of his career, will be in the right place at the right time to make the play.

"Coop prepares well and he knows the defense," Fangio said. "We have a lot of confidence in him, no matter where he plays, to be an impact player in this defense."

That DeJean has been here for three seasons and in Fangio's defense that long, helps the versatility. He has the natural skills and instincts, but DeJean's diligence in the mental game has paid off.

"So much of this game is mental," DeJean said. "You can't spend too much time learning in this league."

So, we're learning more about DeJean and the sideline-to-sideline impact he has on this defense. Where will be line up from play to play in 2026? That's part of the power of the defense – accounting for DeJean as a safety and as a nickel cornerback. It is a valuable tool to use, and Fangio plans to continue to use DeJean to positively impact the defense every week.