Eagles may hand key role to undrafted rookie instead of Cooper DeJean

The Philadelphia Eagles didn't keep Britain Covey, which means they have a hole at punt returner.

The natural replacement might feel like Cooper DeJean, but with his importance to the defense, it doesn't make sense for Philly to put him back there all the time.

That leaves an opening for someone else to seize, and SI's John McMullen suggests that undrafted rookie Taylor Morin may grab the job.

Morin is 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, and he was a six-year college player at Wake Forest.

In 2024, Morin returned 14 punts for 238 yards, an impressive 17.0 yards per return average.

He totaled 809 punt return yards in his college career.

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Morin was also a star receiver, showing his ability to be evasive and make plays. He's the Wake Forest all-time leader in receiving yards (2,974 yards), along with second in receptions (227) and fourth in receiving touchdowns (21).

"Perhaps using DeJean in high-leverage situations is a compromise Vic Fangio and Michael Clay could each get behind," McMullen writes. "Also on hand is free-agent signing Avery Williams, a player who has handled both returner roles with Atlanta in the past and was brought in to potentially handle both with the Eagles. However, Williams missed the entire spring with an undisclosed injury, so the door remains open for others. Second-year receiver Ainias Smith could also factor in, and WR3 Jahan Dotson typically keeps himself sharp by taking punt return reps."

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Clearly, the Eagles have options.

But if they want the punt returner to be able to focus on that job mostly full time, Morin looks like their guy.

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