Riq Woolen already showed that Howie Roseman pulled off another heist

Howie Roseman simply cannot miss, as he did it again with Riq Woolen, proving his worth with the Philadelphia Eagles in their 24-22 Week 1 win over the Washington Commanders.

Last season, the CB2 job was the biggest headache on the defense, with Kelee Ringo and Adoree' Jackson not playing well there. The offseason's biggest priority was to give All-Pros Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean some help at cornerback.

Woolen arrived on a one-year, $12 million prove-it deal and made an immediate, strong impression at OTAs. Training camp showed more of the inconsistency fans saw from him with the Seattle Seahawks last season, but Week 1 certainly got everyone excited about what they have in their new corner.

Riq Woolen was one of the stars from Eagles' Week 1 win over the Commanders

The Eagles' secondary was very good overall, allowing just 163 yards and a 52.9% completion percentage in the win. Woolen, though, stole the show for Philly in the secondary.

According to Sumer Sports, Woolen was targeted four times on 39 coverage snaps. How many catches and yards did he allow? Zero.

Woolen recorded only one tackle in the game, which is probably a good thing for a corner. That usually indicates they didn't have much action in coverage because they were shutting everything down or weren't being targeted.

Pro Football Focus gave Woolen an overall grade of 67.9, ranking 26th out of 91 corners in the NFL that qualify. He had a coverage grade of 66.9, ranking 27th among 91 qualified cornerbacks, and a run-defense grade of 66.5, ranking 31st.

Getting a shutdown corner for just $12 million at CB2 shows Roseman cooked again. He took a chance on a long corner he's always wanted but never got out of Ringo, and he knew Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio could turn him into a great corner.

Fangio was asked about Woolen's performance in the game while speaking with the media. The defensive coordinator did something very rare: he praised his corner in public.

“I thought he played well. I thought he had good focus, did a good job covering, very pleased.”

Fangio going out of his way to say that about Woolen proves this defensive back is the real deal. The Eagles have a 6-foot-4 corner who is impressing everyone and has made the proper first impression on Philly.

Woolen needed the kind of game he did, though, since he had to step up in a big way. Cooper DeJean had one of his worst games as a pro, but Woolen was there to help out. Mitchell and Woolen carried the slack for when DeJean had a rare off-night.

Read more: Grading Makai Lemon’s first NFL performance with the Eagles

This is just the beginning of what could be a great season for Woolen, but it all comes down to whether he can play consistently throughout the year. If he does that, he might already be on his way to his first Pro Bowl season.

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