After a quiet start to free agency, the Philadelphia Eagles made their biggest splash of the offseason thus far by signing Riq Woolen to a one-year contract reportedly worth up to $15 million.
Let’s learn more about Philly’s new starting cornerback by getting a Seattle Seahawks perspective on him. Here’s what Mookie Alexander from Field Gulls had to say about Woolen through answers to my questions.
1 – Can you sum up his time with the Seahawks?
Woolen has had a bit of a whirlwind career with the Seahawks. He was a Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist in 2022 with six interceptions and immediately reminded fans of Richard Sherman–not in personality, but being a former WR turned CB with incredible height (6’4) and the bonus of a 40-yard dash in the 4.2s (which Sherman didn’t have). Subsequent seasons have involved some frustrating spells of on-field performance, untimely penalties, and even a couple of benchings by Pete Carroll and Mike Macdonald for completely separate reasons. By advanced stats, Woolen has been one of the better corners in the league, but his story isn’t that simple. Woolen was a net positive for Seahawks but at the same time it could’ve gone better. than it actually did.
2 – How are Seahawks fans reacting to him leaving and signing the contract he did with the Eagles?
I’d say the fanbase is mixed at best in terms of his departure. The ones who see Riq at his best are disappointed that he left, whereas the ones who have had their fill of Woolen’s lowlights (and maybe blown some out of proportion) are happy he’s gone. In some respects, this is sort of like how fans viewed DK Metcalf when he was traded, except I believe Riq is way better at his position relative to DK as a receiver. It’s not like Woolen was getting torched every week, but his worst moments have frequently come in some high-leverage situations and/or inopportune times. The rise of former Eagle Josh Jobe (who got the multi-year extension Riq didn’t get, albeit at a lower per-year cost) also meant that Woolen went from clear-cut starter to technically not being a starter but playing a starter-like workload alongside Jobe and Devon Witherspoon.
3 – What are his strengths?
Woolen is one of the best in the NFL at passes defensed since coming into the league, tied for second among all cornerbacks with 53. His long arms and closing speed allow him to cover so much ground and shadow receivers 1-on-1, such that the window to complete passes against him are tight. His yards allowed per coverage snap are outstanding, and he was not a cornerback heavily targeted by opposing quarterbacks. When he’s on his game, you don’t notice him because teams aren’t throwing at him. When he’s in man coverage he is hard to consistently beat. Under Mike Macdonald he’s improved in zone coverage, which should be a benefit to going into Vic Fangio’s defense. Playing alongside Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell should make Philadelphia’s cornerback room one of the best in the business given all of their respective talents. I’d be shocked if Woolen turned into Adoree’ Jackson and honestly be disappointed if he was a Byron Maxwell redux. Woolen shouldn’t be Philly’s top corner like Maxwell was supposed to be, so that should be a reasonable safeguard against disaster.
4 – What are his weaknesses?
Concentration and discipline. The discipline can include penalties but it’s not limited to them. I’m sure you all saw the NFC Championship Game taunting penalty and subsequent touchdown allowed to Puka Nacua. That would’ve made him a Seattle sports villain for life had they lost. Mike Macdonald’s reaction was that of familiar exasperation. I don’t like the NFL’s taunting rules but Woolen got flagged three times just this past season. He’s had some sloppy pass interference penalties in previous years and in totality has had 36 total penalties against him over four years. The concentration is him not tracking the ball or his man properly on Ricky Pearsall’s pivotal 4th quarter catch in the Week 1 loss to the 49ers, or getting caught peaking into the backfield on play-action and not being able to recover in time. His lapses did lead to Mike Macdonald preferring Josh Jobe as a starting outside corner over Woolen, who got plenty of playing time anyway in Macdonald’s nickel and dime heavy scheme. It was nevertheless his fewest snaps played to date. Woolen also was briefly benched for an off-field (non-criminal) disciplinary matter by Mike Macdonald in 2024. I’d also add that Riq is not the best, most physical tackler you’ll ever see but he’s gotten better in that area over the past season.
I don’t know how often he’s streaming, but I know that Riq is a Twitch streamer and is otherwise fairly online. If you’re an Eagles fan on Twitter/X just know that he’s definitely reading. Luckily he’s not Kevin Durant levels of online to my knowledge.
BLG’s take: I like the Woolen signing because it wasn’t about Howie Roseman looking at a weak free agency class and trying to overpay someone simply because it was a position of need (see: Adam Peters’ approach this year for the Washington Commanders). Rather, the Eagles’ stance seemed to be a similar to the approved NFL Draft strategy of focusing more on getting the best player available than prioritizing a certain position. The Eagles did have a need at CB2, yes, but signing Woolen was about getting a strong talent at a relatively good value. Adding him to Philly’s secondary gives Vic Fangio the strongest starting corner trio in the NFL. While the downside is real and could be frustrating at times, Woolen is likely to be a net positive (as Mookie said he was in Seattle). The Eagles will get a year to determine if they want to (or if they can afford to) make him a long-term piece. If not, there’s value in having him for a season before potentially letting him earn a big pay day next offseason and allowing the Eagles to collect a compensatory pick for him that they would receive in the 2028 NFL Draft. All told, signing Woolen was good business and Eagles fans should be excited to see him play.
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