For any NFL team in need of secondary support in 2024, Cooper DeJean should be a draft prospect. With a pick of number nine overall in 2019, T.J. Hockenson became the first Iowa Hawkeye to be selected in the top 10, and Cooper is a prime candidate to become the first Iowa Hawkeye defensive back to be selected in the top 10 since Tom Knight was selected in 1997 by the Arizona Cardinals.
Cooper DeJean is a true Junior at the University of Iowa.
During his three years at Iowa, he has made 117 total tackles, 86 of which have come on his own. He played mostly on special teams as a true freshman in 2021, totaling just four tackles for the year. As a true sophomore, he recorded 75 total tackles with five interceptions when given the opportunity to start in 2022. He also joined the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2022 as a punt returner.
Since becoming the punt returner, he has averaged only 13 yards a return, which is not bad since Devin Hester averaged 11 yards a return in his entire NFL career. Cooper DeJean has the speed and pop to be able to return it to the house for a touchdown. He has done that once in his career so far, and that was this year against Michigan State. He should have a second punt return for a touchdown, but he was brutally robbed of it when the refs said he “waived for an invalid fair catch.”
There are plenty of fits for Cooper DeJean in the NFL Draft.
The Green Bay Packers are the first team that might select Cooper DeJean in the draft. Given their history of injuries in the defensive backfield and their recent trade of Rasual Douglas, Cooper DeJean would almost certainly start from day one. The University of Iowa is leading the league in draft selections with 23 former Hawkeyes, something that the Green Bay Packers likewise adore.
Cooper DeJean could wind up with the Los Angeles Chargers (297.4), Washington Commanders (256.8), Chicago Bears (262.3), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (256.0), Denver Broncos (251.8), or Indianapolis Colts (247.5) if the Packers choose to take a different route and draft an offensive weapon or offensive lineman. All six of those teams currently possess selections that are among the top 15 picks are in the bottom 10 in the NFL with passing yards allowed.
Cooper DeJean should be the first defensive back drafted in the 2024 draft. While Koo-Aid McKinstry does give up fewer passing yards per game than DeJean by an average of 7 yards a game, DeJean leads McKinstry in passer rating and interceptions. DeJean is also a better punt returner than McKinstry, averaging three more yards per return. Both defensive backs will make an instant impression with their NFL teams. It will not be like taking Emmanuel Forbes over Christian Gonzalez. But Cooper DeJean should edge out Kool-Aid McKinstry and be the first one off the board.
If Cooper decides to enter the draft this year, there is no doubt that he will have plenty of suitors in this year’s draft. With his passer rating of 45.9 over his two years starting in Iowa, his average of just under 30 yards of receiving allowed in a game, and the two touchdowns he has allowed in his career at Iowa goes to show he is easily one of the best things to come from the University of Iowa.
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