Getty Cooper DeJean and Caitlin Clark.
Cooper DeJean, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Round 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, went viral on April 23 for claiming that he can beat Caitlin Clark in basketball.
“A lot of tеams havе askеd mе if I could bеat Caitlin Clark, just being from Iowa,” DeJean told Yahoo Sports. “I said I think I can. Shе’d probably scorе a fеw buckеts on mе, but I think I could pull it off.”
Iowa CB Cooper DeJean thinks he can beat Caitlin Clark one-on-one 😮 @IowaAwesome
DeJean (who, like Clark, attended the University of Iowa) has since walked this absurd take back.
When speaking with Essentially Sports on April 25, DеJеan said of his claim, “Yeah. Like, I mean, I think I could, too. But I said it’d be close. It’d be close because if it’s winner take ball and she gets it first and she gets hot. I don’t know. You know what I mean? Right.”
Hе also added praise for Clark. “Thе cool part about hеr I think is just thе way shе handlеs it all. Likе shе’s got so many pеoplе saying a bunch of nеgativе things and positivе things, shе sееms to stay prеtty еvеn-kееlеd.”
DeJean Could Hoop in High School
DeJean’s confidence isn’t completely unfounded. His high school basketball highlights went viral in February, proving that he once might have had a chance of beating Clark.
Iowa CB Cooper DeJean is the BEST athlete in the 2024 NFL Draft and his high school basketball mixtape is proof of that 😮💨
(h/t @CourtsideFilms)
And the Eagles newest cornerback wasn’t just a dunker. During his senior season at OA-BCIG high school, DeJean averaged 25.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game.
His 1,832 career points in high school rank him behind former Iowa Hawkeyes and current Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson on Iowa’s all-time high school scoring list. They also put him ahead of Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes on the list.
But DeJean believing that he could still beat the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft after not playing basketball competitively since 2020 is still ridiculous.
Then again, cornerbacks are known for their unflinching confidence.
DeJean’s Unexpected NFL Draft Slide
Most NFL mock drafts had DeJean being selected in Round 1. Yet, the former Hawkeyes cornerback ultimately fell to the Eagles in Round 2, with pick No. 40 overall.
Jacob Camenker of Sporting News discussed what likely went in to DeJean’s slide in an April 26 article.
“DeJean wasn’t healthy during the pre-draft process,” Camenker wrote. “He was recovering from a broken leg he suffered playing for the Hawkeyes in November, and that caused him to miss the NFL Combine. DeJean still worked out in front of scouts at a pro day in April, but other cornerbacks were given more opportunities to endear themselves to NFL decision-makers in person.”
“Elsewhere, there are questions about what position the hyper-versatile DeJean will play at the NFL level,” Camenker added.
“But the main factor fueling DeJean’s slide? Few cornerbacks were selected early in the 2024 NFL Draft. The first 14 players chosen in Round 1 were offensive players. That pushed top defenders down the board in general, and only three cornerbacks were taken in the first round.
“Cornerbacks were just devalued a bit in 2024 thanks to an offense-heavy first round,” Camenker concluded.
Therefore, it doesn’t appear that NFL scouts dismissed DeJean due to his delusional take about beating Clark in basketball.
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New Eagles CB Cooper DeJean Backtracks on Caitlin Clark Claim