INDIANAPOLIS — The issue of whether Cooper DeJean is a cornerback or a safety at the next level might not have a black-and-white solution.
The NFL hasn’t had a white full-time starting cornerback since the Giants’ Jason Sehorn in 2001, but DeJean’s résumé at Iowa should be hard to argue.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound former Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year and Returner of the Year has the size and ball skills — seven interceptions, 13.1 yards per punt return and four total touchdowns on 40 combined touches over the last two seasons — that teams covet when evaluating projected first-round draft picks.
And yet talk persists in NFL circles that DeJean might be better suited to play safety, so has he felt stereotyped at all during his approximately 20 formal team meetings at the NFL Scouting Combine?
“I haven’t really talked to teams about that whole aspect of things,” DeJean said. “It doesn’t really bother me too much. I’m just going to go out and be myself, play my game.”
DeJean will not be able to showcase his acceleration by running the 40-yard dash Friday because he was only medically cleared to run at full speed last week, after the fractured fibula that he suffered on a “freak incident” during a mid-November practice when he tried his hand as an offensive playmaker.
He intends to skip Iowa’s Pro Day and work out privately for teams in early April — and to continue not questioning what underlying rationale might be behind the suggestion that he change positions.
“I feel like it’s more about my versatility. I’ve proved that I can play outside and inside [in the slot],” DeJean said. “Being able to play multiple different positions, I think that’s an advantage coming into this league. I’ll play anywhere. I just want to play ball.”
DeJean cut off a question about his own concerns that his speed might not translate to the NFL with an emphatic “no” — much the same way that he shut down many of the Big Ten’s top receivers.
He allowed 20 catches for 194 yards and no touchdowns on 46 targets playing some Cover 4 and some man-to-man last season.
Can DeJean’s athleticism be felt on the field?
“Psst,” said tight end Erick All, who faced DeJean at Michigan and then became his teammate at Iowa. “You see it. That man is a monster. Nothing is going to change with him. If anything, he is going to grow.”
Riley Moss — another white cornerback from Iowa who was a Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year — slipped to the third round of last year’s draft and played just 23 defensive snaps over 14 games for the Broncos as a rookie.
“I realize it’s unique,” one NFL executive said when asked about the perception of drafting a white cornerback, “but I truly don’t think it matters at all. Skill set matching with a team’s criteria for what they want is all that matters. That’s a factor for everybody who makes the transition from college to the pros.”
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah described DeJean as a “big-time athlete” with “football instincts” who could play cornerback, be a “big, physical” run-stopping slot back or patrol deep safety.
“At corner, there’s just one little thing that bothered me a little bit: I just think there’s a little bit of a pause in his transition, but I’m probably nitpicking a little bit there,” Jeremiah said. “You almost sort it out when you get him there and see who you have. Almost like an offensive lineman that is versatile, he allows you to get your best five defensive backs on the field because of his versatility and athleticism to be in any spot. I wouldn’t pigeonhole him.”
DeJean hails from a small town of about 900 people in Iowa but one scout who met with DeJean described a contagious “big-time swagger.”
“I love to challenge myself,” DeJean said. “I compete in everything I do. We could be racking weights on a bar, and I’m trying to be the fastest one to do it. That’s just how I grew up.”
It could serve well as DeJean faces the challenge to change two decades of NFL history at cornerback.