Super Bowl 59 is around the corner, as the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles prepare for their second contest in three years on the game’s biggest stage.
Plenty of superstars will take the field during the game. The Eagles will deploy running back Saquon Barkley, wide receiver A.J. Brown, and quarterback Jalen Hurts, among others. The Chiefs will counter with tight end Travis Kelce, defensive tackle Chris Jones, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
However, even in such a star-studded affair, some believe that a dark horse candidate is primed to take home his first Super Bowl MVP.
Craig Carton Predicts Cooper DeJean Will Win Super Bowl MVP
While discussing Super Bowl MVP candidates on Breakfast Ball on FS1, NFL analyst Craig Carton offered up a fascinating pick for his pick for the award.
“For me, I’m going to go by the term ‘dark horse’. A guy that’s not being considered by anybody as a potential [Super Bowl] MVP candidate,” Carton began.
“[My pick] is Cooper DeJean. A couple interceptions, maybe a pick-six, a big, unexpected cornerback blitz sack causes a fumble by Mahomes… so I’m taking Cooper DeJean as my dark horse as the Eagles win the Super Bowl.”
"I'm taking Cooper Dejean as my dark horse. He's going to have a couple of picks, a sack, a forced fumble, and a recovered fumble. I like Cooper Dejean."
— @craigcartonlive rocking with Coop as his Super Bowl MVP dark horse 💪 pic.twitter.com/2i7NPfZKb4
— Breakfast Ball (@BrkfstBallOnFS1) February 5, 2025
DeJean is certainly a unique pick, as his current odds to the win the award stand at a daunting +20000 on FanDuel Sportsbook. For reference, those are worse odds than Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (+17000) and the same odds as Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker.
DeJean, a first-round rookie cornerback, played a big part in the Eagles’ defensive turnaround this season, allowing just an 80.1 passer rating in coverage while playing 63% of the defense’s snaps in the regular season.
He’s been even better in Philadelphia’s three playoff games, allowing a 74.0 passer rating and 58.3% completion rate as the primary defender in coverage.
However, Carton predicting for him to have a “couple interceptions and a sack” may prove to be a tad aggressive, as DeJean recorded no picks and just 0.5 sacks this season (regular season and playoffs combined).
There have been just nine defensive players in history that have been named Super Bowl MVP, including just three defensive backs: Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Dexter Jackson (2003), Dallas Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown (1996), and Miami Dolphins defensive back Jake Scott (1973).
If DeJean is going to defy the odds and earn the distinction of MVP from the Big Game, he’d better hope the Eagles find a way to topple the dynastic Chiefs. Only one player in Super Bowl history has ever won the game’s MVP award as part of a losing effort: Chuck Howley of the Cowboys in Super Bowl 5.
Of course, in order for that to happen, the Eagles will have to defy the odds in their own right. They’re currently 1.5-point underdogs as they gear up to seek revenge for their Super Bowl 57 defeat.