Eagles cornerbacks Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell received the highest individual honor for NFL players Saturday when they were both named 1st-team selections on the 86th annual Associated Press all-pro team.
That makes the Eagles only the second team ever with two 1st-team all-pro cornerbacks in the same year. Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters of the Ravens both received the honor in 2019.
DeJean, 22, becomes the Eagles’ youngest 1st-team all-pro since 22-year-old tight end Charle Young made the team as a rookie in 1973. Mitchell, 24, and DeJean are the first pair of Eagles 24 or younger named all-pro the same year since Hall of Fame cornerback Eric Allen and tight end Keith Jackson, who were both 24 in 1989.
Previous Eagles corners named 1st-team all-pro are Tom Brookshier in 1960, Allen in 1989, Troy Vincent in 2002 and Lito Sheppard in 2004.
DeJean was honored in the relatively new slot cornerback category, which was created in 2023. He has played 657 snaps in the slot this year, according to Pro Football Focus, and 226 at outside corner.
The Eagles drafted Mitchell and DeJean in the first and second rounds last year. That makes 2024 the first draft in which the Eagles have selected two 1st-team all-pros since 2002, which produced Brian Westbrook, a 2007 1st-team selection, and Sheppard, who was honored in 2004. They had never previously selected two defensive all-pros the same year.
The Eagles selected as many 1st-team all-pro defensive players in the 2024 draft as in the previous 25 years combined. That stretch produced just Sheppard in 2002 and Fletcher Cox in 2012.
Mitchell and DeJean were both named to their first Pro Bowl team last month. Mitchell had two interceptions in the playoffs last year but doesn’t have any in two regular seasons. DeJean had his pick-6 off Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl and added two INTs this year.
Mitchell is the fifth cornerback to earn 1st-team all-pro honors without an interception. Trent McDuffie of the Chiefs and Sauce Gardner of the Jets both did it in 2023.
Mitchell had the 2nd-lowest defensive passer rating this year among 51 corners who were targeted at least 20 times at 64.3, according to Stathead analytics. He had the lowest opposing quarterback completion percentage at 44.3 percent and 4th-lowest yards-per-target at 5.1. He had 17 pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
DeJean had a 63.8 defensive passer rating when he lined up in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus. He had 16 pass breakups, four tackles for loss and a forced fumble in addition to interceptions off Jared Goff and Josh Johnson.
The Eagles had one of the NFL’s top pass defenses this year, allowing an NFL-low 56.8 percent completion percentage and just 14 passing touchdowns.
DeJean is the sixth corner named 1st-team all-pro at 22 years old, joining Mark Johnston of the Oilers in 1960, Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott of the 49ers in 1981, Arizona’s Patrick Peterson in 2011 and Gardner in 2022.
The only other teams with two all-pro defensive backs who were in their first or second season are the 1961 Chargers with Dick Harris and Charlie McNeil and the 2018 Chargers with Derwin James and Desmond King.
Despite playing in just 10 games, Lane Johnson finished third in balloting among right tackles. Johnson was a 1st-team all-pro in 2017 and 2022 and second team in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
Linebacker Zack Baun, a 1st-team selection last year, did not make first or second team this year even though he had just as good a season as in 2024. Baun finished fifth in balloting among linebackers with 43 points, 14 points away from earning 2nd-team honors.
DeJean out-pointed Derwin James of the Chargers 86-73 for 1st-team slot honors. Mitchell finished with 84 points, 2nd-most among cornerbacks behind only Derek Stingley Jr. of the Texans, who had 130. Dallas Goedert finished eighth among tight ends, Jordan Mailata sixth among left tackles and Landon Dickerson sixth among left guards.
One former Eagle did make 1st-team all-pro, Bears safety Kevin Byard, who led the NFL with even interceptions, including one against the Eagles. Byard spent the second half of the 2023 season with the Eagles.
The annual all-pro team is selected by a national panel of 50 football writers and broadcasters.