July 28, 2025
Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice
Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean greets fans after training camp practice at the NovaCare Complex on July 23, 2025.
Cooper DeJean has been soaring in popularity among Eagles fans, and as it turns out, among his peers, too.
The second-year cornerback was revealed on Monday to be ranked 60th on the list of the NFL's Top 100 Players of 2025, in an annual offseason vote that is done by the players themselves.
"Super-instinctive player," Eagles linebacker and teammate Zack Baun said of DeJean in the reveal video posted by the NFL on Monday. "Has a really good feel for the game, route concepts...He can play man, he can play zone, tremendous tackler, can set edges in the run game, so you have to respect that, really a do-it-all nickel."
Added star running back Saquon Barkley: "Came in, and man, when things got rolling, he never looked back."
Seriously.
NFL Top 100 Players of 2025:@Eagles CB Cooper DeJean makes his debut at No. 60! @NFLFilms pic.twitter.com/Zywtv0JM7t
— NFL (@NFL) July 28, 2025
DeJean first caught everyone's attention in the Week 9 win at Cincinnati. Late in the third quarter, the Bengals were down and going for it on fourth down, looking to get the ball into the hands of their star receiver Ja'Marr Chase.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow sent Chase into motion, but DeJean from overtop matched him step for step on every movement. Then on the snap, DeJean hit full speed and barreled around the corner, wrapping Chase up as soon as the ball got to him and well behind the line of scrimmage to force a turnover on downs.
Seemingly no stage was too big for the rookie out of Iowa from there.
DeJean squared up to and then spiked behemoth running back Derrick Henry into the ground on a crucial stop in the Eagles' early December win over the Ravens in Baltimore a few weeks later, then in the Super Bowl (and on his birthday), he tracked and stepped in front of a Patrick Mahomes pass to run it all the way back for a pick six that sent the Eagles well on their way to the Lombardi Trophy and a parade.
A second-round draft pick last April and a starter not all that long into Year 1, DeJean was part of why the Eagles' defense grew so dominant, and the fans picked up on that quickly, chanting "Coooop!" with every big tackle or play he made.
Now it's clear that the league, across the board, knew how important he was, too.
"Madden 26" comes out soon – Aug. 14 to be exact – and Saquon Barkley will be on the cover of it.
The star running back will also be among the best players in the game with a 99 overall rating, and he's got company.
Lane Johnson is getting a 99 rating, too, series developer EA Sports and the Eagles revealed Monday, with veteran right tackle receiving a commemorative chain from the "Madden" team for the occasion.
Iced out for 9️⃣9️⃣@EAMaddenNFL | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/xWkD4O3gD2
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 28, 2025
The "99 Club," as EA dubbed it, for "Madden 26" in full: RB Saquon Barkley (Eagles), RT Lane Johnson (Eagles), QB Lamar Jackson (Ravens), WR Ja'Marr Chase (Bengals), WR Justin Jefferson (Vikings), QB Josh Allen (Bills), DE Myles Garrett (Browns).
Johnson and Barkley also join a very select group of Eagles to have received a 99 rating throughout the "Madden" games' 30-plus-year history. Kicker David Akers in "Madden 06" and Hall of Fame safety Brian Dawkins in "Madden 2004" are the only two other Eagles to have gotten the 99 tag, per the team. (Author's note: Kicking from 50-plus out with Akers was so automatic that summer.)
Big picture, the video game ratings mean little, but they do often make for a fun summer talking point ahead of the new NFL season.
They're also often representative of true star status in the league, so in a way, Johnson getting a 99 rating in "Madden" speaks volumes to how well regarded he is in the larger football world – to a degree that the organization and the Philadelphia fans have already known for well over a decade.
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