For the past couple seasons, there haven’t been many nickel cornerbacks better than Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive back Cooper DeJean. So when he talks ball, you listen.
This week at the Super Bowl, DeJean is doing the rounds at Radio Row, and during an appearance on Pro Football Talk’s show, he offered some pretty darn high praise for Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Chris Simms asked DeJean who was a player he’s faced in the last couple years who made him go “Holy cow, I can’t believe this guy is that good.” St. Brown was the first player that came to DeJean’s mind.
“Amon-Ra,” DeJean said. “Obviously, I knew he was good, but how strong he is running routes and at the catch point definitely surprised me a little bit. I think I’m a strong guy, but going against him—the way he runs his routes and how physical he is—him and Puka (Nacua).”
St. Brown and DeJean have only faced off once in their respective professional careers. On that day, DeJean certainly got the best of St. Brown and the Lions, as Philly walked away with a 16-9 win. St. Brown managed just two catches and 42 yards on 12 targets—one of the worst performances of his career. Per PFF, DeJean didn’t allow a single catch in coverage against St. Brown on three targets. Still, he came away respecting his game.
Later in the day, St. Brown had an opportunity to respond to the praise while on Simms’ other show, “Fantasy Football Happy Hour.”
“Honored that he would say something like that,” St. Brown said. “I feel like there are so many good receivers in this league, to me, that are elite that can do stuff at a high level.”
Unfortunately, the two won’t face off against each other next year, unless the Eagles and the Lions face off in the playoffs. Still, it’s nice to see game recognize game.
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