The Philadelphia Eagles drafted Cooper DeJean in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and the defensive back has contributed significantly to his team’s success this season.
The rookie tandem of DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell at the cornerback position has set up the Eagles for success for years to come. They will play in Super Bowl 59, and Kay Adams recently asked Chris Long to offer advice to rookies who will feel the most pressure on Super Bowl Sunday.
Chris Long Offers Advice to Cooper DeJean
Long, a two-time Super Bowl champion, played two seasons with the Eagles at the end of his career. He knows how young players could try to overdo things in a game of high magnitude and broke down how they should approach such games during his appearance on “Up & Adams.”
“I would say, don’t try to make the play that wins it,” Long said.
“I waited eight years to play in the playoffs and then ended up in a Super Bowl, very lucky to be a part of that [New England] Patriots team in 2016, you know, for me, when that playoff run started, I was trying to make plays to justify being there, you know, and as the stage gets bigger, you start thinking … I think some younger players might think, ‘Hey, to play well in the playoffs, you have to be experienced.’ Well, that’s not true.”
Long mentioned that even veteran players can make big mistakes in Super Bowls due to the magnitude of the game. As a result, young players like DeJean should do things that have helped them succeed throughout the season.
What's one piece of advice for a rookie playing in the SB??
2x SB Champ Chris Long: "DON'T try to make the play that wins it."
Great insight here @JOEL9ONE 🙌@heykayadams pic.twitter.com/doBNouzCfi
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) February 4, 2025
“I think it doesn’t matter who you are in the playoffs, we see young guys make plays that are impactful every year, and we see vets screw it up, quite frankly, every year,” Long added.
“So it doesn’t matter who you are. … You know there’s gonna be a moment on the field where you’re like, ‘OK, this is my moment,’ and then you’ve got to make that play, but you can’t get out of your technique and what got you here … because that’s when you make mistakes that can hurt your team.”
DeJean is 21 years old, while Mitchell is 23, and they will be up against veteran stars like Travis Kelce, DeAndre Hopkins, and JuJu Smith-Schuster, who have played in many big games in their careers.
It’s important for the Eagles’ star rookie duo to make the situation tough for the Kansas City Chiefs by doing things that they have not done so far. Moments like these are made for special players, and hopefully, both of them will be at their best against the experienced Chiefs unit.
DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell Have Been Critical to Eagles’ Success
The Eagles had one of the worst secondary in the league last season, but the addition of Mitchell, DeJean, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson under Vic Fangio has made them one of the best.
The Eagles’ passing defense was the best in the league in the regular season, allowing just 174.2 passing yards per game. They also had the second-best scoring defense and Defense+ grade in the league (87.9, B+), as the brilliance of their formidable defensive line led by Jalen Carter, linebacker unit led by Zack Baun, and the exceptional secondary gave up just 17.8 points per game.
Philadelphia’s roster is arguably the best in the league, and they might have a more talented roster than the Chiefs. However, if the games were played on paper, then the Chiefs wouldn’t have been this successful.
Andy Reid is the best head coach in the league, and he and the other coaches on the team have prepared the players exceptionally well. The Chiefs players, led by Patrick Mahomes, are ready for anything that can come up in games and make the most of it. Now, it’s up to Nick Sirianni and his coaching staff to decide whether they could take advantage of the talent at their disposal to avenge the Super Bowl loss from two years ago.
