The NFL already knows how special Philadelphia Eagles cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are, but how good is this secondary going to be in 2026?
Last year, Eagles fans had to suffer with Adoree' Jackson and Kelee Ringo trying to figure out who wants the CB2 job, so Philly decided to sign Riq Woolen in free agency to a one-year, $12 million contract to solve that problem for at least 2026. While there has been some risk to the Woolen signing, one stat might actually make Eagles general manager Howie Roseman look even more like a genius.
NFL researcher Tony Holzman-Escareno shared an interesting stat on his X page: yards per snap allowed in man coverage among defensive backs in 2025, with a minimum of 125 snaps. Here are the top five fewest in the NFL last year:
1. Kyle Hamilton - 0.3
2. Riq Woolen - 0.5
3. Quinyon Mitchell - 0.6
4. Jamel Dean - 0.6
5. Deommodore Lenoir - 0.6
Riq Woolen and Quinyon Mitchell are going to be tough to throw it on in 2026
Woolen might have been somewhat inconsistent in coverage last year and has some questions about his emotions not being as well controlled in games, but he has been a solid coverage corner. Last year, he allowed just 54.2% of his targets to be caught and has never allowed more than 57.7% in his four years in the NFL.
Obviously, everyone knows how good Mitchell and DeJean are in coverage after being All-Pros last year in just their second seasons in the NFL. They are both considered to be among the top five corners in the league.
With Woolen added to the picture, there is no telling how good this secondary will be in 2026. Even with the issues of Jackson and Ringo last year, this was still a top-five pass defense in the NFL.
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It's pretty apparent now that the Eagles are a much better team with Woolen on there, and this defense is about to have an even better season coming up.