Eagles’ Cooper DeJean plans to use his hands better in coverage after a ’frustrating’ performance vs. Carolina

The process of reviewing the film from last Sunday’s win against the Carolina Panthers elicited a sense of frustration from Cooper DeJean.

Clip after clip, DeJean watched as Carolina wide receiver Adam Thielen found success out of the slot, racking up four receptions on five targets for 49 yards in his matchups against him, according to Pro Football Focus. But it was the way Thielen beat him that bugged the rookie nickel cornerback the most. The 11-year veteran receiver excelled at using his body to create separation, achieving a level of physicality that DeJean said he did not match.

“I feel like I’ve been using my hands well over the last however many weeks,” DeJean said on Thursday. “I feel like I kind of got away from it a little bit during the game last week, which was frustrating to watch a little bit. Just got to get back to that and using my hands and being physical at the line.”

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Physicality hadn’t been a self-proclaimed issue for DeJean in recent weeks. His hit on Derrick Henry served as a microcosm of the intensity that the Eagles played with in their victory over the Baltimore Ravens. His fourth-down stop on Ja’Marr Chase was one of the lasting images from the Eagles’ defeat of the Cincinnati Bengals. He kept Cooper Kupp at bay in their prime-time matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.

Still, growth isn’t linear, and DeJean is treating Sunday as a learning experience as he holds himself to a high standard.

“I think when guys are doing certain things when I’m in coverage on them, [I need to be] able to adjust better throughout the game to what they’re trying to do to me to get open,” DeJean said.

Since DeJean’s transition to the NFL game, he has focused on increasing the use of his hands, particularly in press man coverage. At Iowa as an outside cornerback, DeJean was used to sliding off, giving receivers space, and trusting his instincts to make a play on the perimeter.

Nickel cornerbacks don’t have the benefit of the sideline to work with. Slot receivers can run in any direction, underscoring the importance of a nickel cornerback like DeJean to use his hands to help take away a receiver’s leverage. Getting back to early-season basics has been a point of emphasis for DeJean in practice this week.

“We work every day on our press man-to-man techniques and using our hands and hand placement every single day,” DeJean said. “So I’ve just got to continue to do that and apply it on Sunday.”

Sunday will provide DeJean and the Eagles defense with a challenge when quarterback Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers offense take the field, even without one of their best players. George Pickens, the team’s leader in receiving yards, has been ruled out for a second straight week due to a hamstring injury.

DeJean said their offense doesn’t change too much without him. They still boast talented receivers capable of coming down with Wilson’s signature moon ball, especially Mike Williams, whom the Steelers acquired at the trade deadline from the New York Jets. Additionally, Najee Harris headlines a prolific run game that ranks second in the league in rushing attempts and ninth in rushing yards.

“They want to run the ball,” DeJean said. “So that’s the first priority is stop the run. They’re physical up front. And then they’ve got some fast guys in the slot. They’ve got some veteran receivers, guys who have been doing it for a little while. So it’s going to be a good matchup, I think, so trying to take away the deep shots with their quarterback and their guys on the outside. And then stopping the run.”

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The Steelers also have a talented tight end in Pat Freiermuth, who has caught 91.7% of his targets this year, leading his position group (minimum of 40 targets). Freiermuth has taken nearly half of his snaps out of the slot this season, so DeJean is likely to see him and Calvin Austin (61.2% of his snaps in the slot) throughout the afternoon.

For DeJean, the key to moving forward against the Steelers is having a short memory. Christian Parker, the Eagles defensive backs coach, enforces that approach among his young cornerbacks, including DeJean’s rookie teammate Quinyon Mitchell. DeJean has cherished the company of another first-year cornerback with whom he can grow and learn alongside.

“You want to go out and do a good job and help the team win as best we can,” DeJean said. “But when things aren’t going our way, kind of being there just for each other as young guys and knowing that we’re still learning. This is our first year. We’re going to make mistakes. We’re both hard on ourselves, but I think we help each other.

“When things aren’t going our way, you just stay positive and move on.”

The Eagles play in Week 15 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.