‘It’d Be a Fun Battle’: Cooper DeJean Discusses Potential A.J. Brown Matchup and More
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean and Houston Texans safety Reed Blankenship hosted the first ever live episode of “Exciting Mics” at Fanatics Fest on Saturday. Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman joined the dynamic duo as the show’s special guest for the event. While they primarily focused on Edelman’s career, there were a few Eagles related nuggets mixed in.
Edelman discussed his journey from junior college to the New England Patriots and all of his obstacles along the way. The former Super Bowl MVP talked about how some teams viewed him as a potential defensive back coming out of college and that he played a few snaps on defense in New England. Edelman was forced to play slot cornerback against the Baltimore Ravens in the 2011 AFC Championship game.
Blankenship went on to joke that Edelman could’ve been DeJean before the 23-year-old arrived at the next level. While Edelman said that he believes playing defense is easier than playing on offense, he wouldn’t go as far as saying that he would’ve played at DeJean’s level as a cornerback in the NFL.
“I don’t know about that,” Edelman said in response to Blankenship’s lofty comparison to DeJean. “That’s a bad man!”
Philadelphia’s former defensive back duo then asked Edelman for words of wisdom regarding complacency and falling short after previously winning the Super Bowl. Edelman’s response reminded me a lot of how Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni talks about the process and not looking too far ahead while climbing the mountain that is the NFL season.
“You need to understand that you always have to try to improve,” Edelman said. “Each week is about literally trying to improve to the next week and then once we get to the playoffs, then we’ll see where we’re at.”
“We all watch the best teams that win the Super Bowl, they’re the hottest teams at the end of the year. So if you’re constantly improving and you’re improving the team each week, that’s what gave us our best shot.”
After Edelman dropped some knowledge on the relatively young defensive backs, the show pivoted a bit more towards what’s going on in the City of Brotherly Love. The first topic was Blankenship’s departure in free agency and how DeJean felt about losing one of his closest friends on the Eagles.
“It’s been a little quiet around the locker room without him around,” DeJean joked. “We’re going to miss him. He got his money, I’m happy for him. He’s got a baby now, he’s married, he’s grown up so he’s leaving the nest.”
Blankenship wasn’t the only close teammate that DeJean watched leave Philadelphia this offseason, he also discussed the departure of former Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown. DeJean opened up about practicing against Brown and a potential matchup in the future now that they’re on different teams.
“I’ve only gone against him a handful of times in practice,” DeJean admitted. “I would love to go against him. I know he’d love to go against us too so it’d be a fun battle.”
After discussing the departure of two players, DeJean then had a chance to defend two of his current teammates. He addressed the recent articles from ESPN that ranked Jalen Hurts as the 17th-best quarterback and DeVonta Smith as the 22nd-best wide receiver.
Before DeJean could address the topic, Blankenship chimed in and said “I don’t believe in rankings.” Despite no longer being on the Eagles, it’s clear that Blankenship isn’t buying the anonymously sourced rankings.
DeJean echoed the same once he discussed the controversial topic. “I don’t really think that matters when it comes to production on the field and what they do for our team,” DeJean said. “Those guys are great leaders in our locker room.”
Despite the rankings that are being publicized, DeJean quickly defended his teammates and quieted the noise. Following a disappointing performance last season, it’s clear that DeJean and his teammates are ready to move forward and prove it all on the field in 2026.