The Philadelphia Eagles traded up to No. 40 overall in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft to select Iowa cornerback Cooper Dejean.
We will leave the analysis of the choice to our friends at Fio das Águias It is Hawkeyes Yarn. The Wisconsin-related angle to the pick and the second night of the draft: DeJean finally broke out of Iowa’s defense after terrorizing the Badgers for years.
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DeJean first found a role with the Hawkeyes as a kick returner in 2021. Wisconsin dominated that matchup 27-7, as the star cornerback returned a kick for 20 yards. He was quiet during the first confrontation.
2022 was when the domination began. The Badgers under interim coach Jim Leonhard lost a tough contest in Iowa City that year, 24-10. DeJean had four punt returns for 82 yards, plus 10 total tackles, one tackle for loss and a pick-six for 32 yards. Iowa totaled 146 yards of offense that afternoon. The star defensive back accounted for nearly all of the Hawkeye’s points.
This trend continued into 2023. In Wisconsin’s 15–6 loss to Iowa, DeJean totaled three tackles, including a critical tackle for loss on 4th and 1 inside Hawkeyes territory.
Wisconsin must turn around its performance against Iowa if Luke Fickell and his staff want to turn the Badgers into a Big Ten contender. The Hawkeyes will still be strong on defense, but at least DeJean has moved on from the secondary unit and special teams.
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