A Special Secondary

Posted April 5th, 2026

The Eagles only made one significant offseason addition, signing cornerback Riq Woolen away from Seattle. This move got its share of praise, but still feels like it has been overlooked because of all the focus on AJ Brown and other hot button issues.

Woolen has great size at 6-4, 210. He ran a 4.26 at the Combine back in 2022 so he has elite speed. He’s started 53 games in the NFL and generally played at a high level. He has 12 career INTs and 53 PDs. He can cover and make plays on the ball.

Look at that list above. The Eagles now have number two and three on that list as their outside corners. Mitchell and Woolen have the size, speed and cover skills to match up with any pair of receivers in the league. Now add in the fact that Cooper DeJean is arguable the best nickelback in the league. That gives Vic Fangio an elite trio of corners. They have a chance to be a special group if Woolen proves to be a good fit and plays to his potential.

Howie Roseman talked about the need for better depth at corner this year. Last year they had Jakorian Bennett, Kelee Ringo and Mac McWilliams. Bennett never played well after coming to Philly. Ringo continues to show he’s lost at corner. McWilliams was an unproven rookie trying to figure things out. Howie didn’t want to go through that again. He signed a proven veteran in Jonathan Jones to be the top backup. The team has Michael Carter as the backup at nickel.

Bennett, Ringo and McWilliams will have a chance to show what they can do this summer. Bennett has played well at times in the NFL. The talent is there. He just needs to put the pieces together. Ringo is terrific on STs where he can rely on his athleticism and toughness. He shows no feel in coverage, which negates his athleticism. I feel like he’s a lost cause aside from STs. McWilliams will likely focus on outside corner this summer. Fangio liked him quite a bit and will do everything he can to develop him.

Safety is more of a projection. The starters for now are Drew Mukuba and Marcus Epps. The Eagles have said they will continue to add to the position. This is a good safety class so they’ll have good options in the draft. For now let’s focus on Mukuba and Epps.

Mukuba got off to an erratic start. He made some coverage mistakes that led to big plays and really hurt the defense. He also had the goal line INT vs the Chiefs that proved to be a huge play in a key win. Mukuba has good cover skills. He is a solid hitter and tackler.

Once he got some experience under his belt he started to be more consistent in coverage. I think he will continue to improve. The ability is there. He’s learning how to play in the NFL. Being inconsistent early on happens to a lot of DBs. He did play better as the season wore on last year.

I think Mukuba can be one of the better safeties in the league over time.

As for Epps, you might be surprised to find out he’s got 49 career starts. I didn’t realize that. He is an excellent hitter and tackler.

Epps isn’t a big playmaker on the back end. He has 3 career INTs and 18 PDs. Fangio values him as a run defender and must think he’s going to be effective in coverage. Remember that Reed Blankenship was erratic in coverage last year so Epps shouldn’t be some major drop off. The defense played well down the stretch when Epps started in place of the injured Mukuba.

We’ll have to wait and see who they draft to add to the mix. I’ll write a separate post focusing on some safety prospects. They don’t have to force an early pick. I think there will be good choices in the first four rounds. It will depend on what they are looking for and who is available.

https://igglesblitz.com/2026/04/a-special-secondary/

The CB room has a lot of talent and potential. If Woolen uses this year like we all hope and goes out to get that big contract then the CB room is a big step up from last year.

But at Safety there’s nothing special about what we have right now. Makuba is under sized and we don’t know how good he might be. Epps is at best an okay Safety who can do a job and likely won’t be a disaster. But make no sense Safety is a real concern.

Our CBs are really good, and the Safeties are ok. Can't have great players at every position. I like Epps and Mukuba as the Starters. Could be worse. 🫣