Mel Kiper Jr. breaks down Cooper DeJean's future in NFL

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. is a big fan of Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean and thinks the Hawkeye can do it all at the next level.

Ahead of the NFL Draft in the spring, DeJean is one of the better defensive back prospects waiting to be selected. In fact, he can play corner or safety and he’s one heck of a punt returner.

Kiper joins Field Yates on First Draft to break it all down.

“Cooper DeJean to me is a corner, sometimes safety, heck of a cover guy,” Kiper Jr. said. “He’s so instinctive and he had that punt return against Minnesota for a touchdown called back and because the apparent fair catch signal was ridiculous but he can do so many things and … he’ll be ready to go.”

DeJean played three seasons at Iowa (30 games) and finished his career with 120 total tackles, 85 solo tackles, five tackles for loss, seven interceptions, 13 pass deflections and three defensive touchdowns. He had a career high five interceptions in 2022.

As a punt returner, DeJean returned 31 kicks over the last two years for 406 yards, one touchdown and 13.1 yards per return.

As a member of the Class of 2021, DeJean was a four-star recruit out of Ida Grove (Iowa) Battle Creek, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 5 overall prospect in the state, the No. 14 athlete in the class and the No. 304 overall prospect in the class.

DeJean didn’t get to play in the Big Ten Championship this year as he suffered a season-ending injury back in November. But head coach Kirk Ferentz described what the cornerback meant to the team.

“We were traveling to Iowa State [this year], and somebody said he wasn’t even on the travel roster the last time we went over there in ’21,” Ferentz said on his radio show. “I think it was the second game of the year in ’21, and by the end of the year, he was playing. He made a beautiful play in the bowl game to save a touchdown, and they ended up scoring anyway. That was kind of a Kodak play for me as a true freshman.

“You think about the way he’s played … almost a full two years. I was thinking about this last week, I’m not sure he’s not one of the best players I’ve ever been around at any level. And we’ve had a lot of great players here.”