The Eagles stink at drafting defensive backs, but they have to trade up and take Cooper DeJean

Only three times in the 10 years that Howie Roseman has controlled the Eagles’ draft has he selected a defensive back as high as the third round, which is a good thing for the franchise. That’s because, in the 10 years that Roseman has run the show, they’ve hit on zero of those picks.

Sidney Jones, a second-round pick in 2017, never blossomed. Rasul Douglas, a third-round pick that same year, didn’t find his footing until his fifth season and his sixth team. The Eagles clearly do not see the sort of reward in taking defensive backs on the draft’s first two days.

That’s not because DBs don’t have value; they do. Really good ones go quickly, as they did in 2022, when Derek Stingley Jr. went third overall, Sauce Gardner went fourth, and safety Kyle Hamilton went 14th. Notably, the Eagles drafted defensive tackle Jordan Davis 13th in 2022, and not only does Hamilton have four interceptions for Baltimore’s dynamic defense, he also has five sacks, which is twice as many as Davis.

Of course, when the worst draft mistake in franchise history involves a DB, maybe institutional paranoia sets in.

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The Eagles haven’t drafted a defensive back in the first round since Lito Sheppard in 2002, and they haven’t drafted a defensive back in the top 20 since … well, there’s some scar tissue there.

In 1968, the Eagles started 0-11 and looked like a lock to get the No. 1 pick in 1969 and draft Southern Cal superstar O.J. Simpson. However, the Eagles won two of their last three games and slipped to third in the draft. There, they drafted Purdue running back/defensive back Leroy Keyes, a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist. Keyes primarily played safety, lasted five seasons in the NFL, and was done.

The guy drafted behind him, a defensive tackle out of North Texas, finished his 13-year career with the Steelers with four Super Bowl rings, 10 Pro Bowl appearances, was twice voted Defensive Player of the Year, and has a gold Hall of Fame jacket: Mean Joe Greene.

Which brings us to the Eagles’ current predicament.

Veteran cornerback James Bradberry turned 30 just before the 2023 season began, but he played like he was 130 by the time it ended.

Darius “Big Play” Slay, who struggled with injury, turned into Darius “Might Play” Slay. He’s 33.

Avonte Maddox will enter his seventh season as an Eagle, but if you extract 2021, he has averaged 9.6 games in the other five seasons.

All three remain on the Eagles’ roster, but none should be considered either a frontline player or a long-term solution. They need to trade up, draft a cornerback, and they can’t afford to miss.

They won’t miss with Iowa’s Cooper DeJean.

He’s a plug-and-play asset.

He’s a Christian McCaffrey, only on defense, could play outside, slot, or safety.

He’s a spectacular, well-rounded athlete with an elite football IQ.

He’s the sort of player who answers a lot of questions in a defensive backfield whose talent is fading as the calendar continues to turn.

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Which is why the Eagles can’t afford to touch the Kool-Aid — Kool-Aid McKinstry, that is, the Alabama cornerback whose grandma thought he smiled like a pitcher of sugary water that bursts through walls and hollers, “Oh Yeah!”

McKinstry will likely be available when the Eagles’ first-round pick arrives at No. 22. That’s because McKinstry projects as a solid player without top-end speed who one day could develop into a borderline Pro Bowl player.

Nate Wiggins out of Clemson might still be around, too, and he’s a better gamble, particularly with 4.28-second speed in the 40-yard dash, but he’s an underweight project.

No, the class of the DBs will be gone inside the top 15 picks. Roseman has two second-round picks. He should package No. 22 and either No. 50 or 53, move inside the top 15, and land a bigger fish.

DeJean is that fish.

» READ MORE: NFL draft: Cooper DeJean an ideal fit for Eagles’ defense among a deep group of cornerback prospects

He won two state titles … as a quarterback. He scored 1,832 points as a high school basketball player. He could dunk before he reached high school. He won the Iowa state title in the long jump and 100-meter dash. Yes, it’s Iowa, but still.

There’s a chance DeJean could fall to the Birds, but it’s slim. Still …

Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell is running-back big, 4.3-second fast, with wonderful feet. Alabama’s Terrion Arnold is a terrier in man coverage and has competed against the NCAA’s best.

Teams could consider DeJean’s mechanical technique a detriment. They could consider his 4.4-second speed too slow. Also, after the top quarterbacks, receivers, and defensive backs get drafted, there will be a rush on offensive and defensive linemen, which could leave the Eagles with DeJean in their laps.

That’s too much of a risk. They should trade up. They should fill this need. It’s time.

The Eagles can’t miss at DB again, can they? Doesn’t the law of averages apply at One NovaCare Way? What about the blind-squirrel-and-nut chestnut?

At any rate, this pick seems like the biggest of no-brainers.

They’ve stockpiled offensive and defensive linemen. Those players need to play.

Since 2021, they’ve invested almost $200 million and two first-round picks in receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. They need to earn that money.

Tight end Dallas Goedert is in the third year of a four-year, $57 million contract. He needs to stay healthy.

Roseman just gave Saquon Barkley more than $37 million to take the pressure off $255 million quarterback Jalen Hurts.

There’s a bumper crop of top-end DBs in this year’s draft. All Roseman has to do is figure out which one he wants to pick.

We’ve made ours.

Hopefully, he won’t blow his.