Though the first week of free agency is still technically ongoing, as the legal tampering window only opened up on Monday, March 9 before the official start on Wednesday the 11th at 4 pm EST, it feels like the first wave of signing has officially crested, with the Philadelphia Eagles leaving Round 1 with four new players, perimeter cornerback Riq Woolen, outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie, tight end Johnny Mundt, and depth DB Jonathan Jones.
Of that quartet, Woolen is unquestionably the star of the show, with the now-fifth-year defensive back winning his first-ever Super Bowl Championship as a top-3 cornerback option for the Seattle Seahawks back in February. While he has a bit of a reputation for being boom-or-bust, with the more consistent Josh Jobe taking up the CB2 spot for Seattle in 2025, he is fast enough to take on deep threat wide receivers down the field, big enough to body opposing tight ends, and young enough to keep getting better as he enters his Year 27 season.
Ebiketie, too, is the kind of ascending player the Eagles have had success with in the past, a Temple-turned-Penn State product who has recorded 14 sacks over the past three seasons while rotating in and out as a depth rusher for Ryan Nielsen and Raheem Morris’ Hawks defenses in Atlanta. Standing 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, Ebiketie has never played more than 50 percent of his team’s snaps, but for a team that lost Jaelan Phillips in free agency, he should be able to contribute alongside players like Jalyx Hunt, Nolan Smith, and Brandon Graham in his final NFL season.
Factor in two more depth signings in Mundt and Jones, and the Eagles look alright for a team avoiding massive moves as they navigate the potential AJ Brown trade market.
And yet, of all the moves the Eagles made so far in 2026, their biggest issue might just be the deal they didn’t pull off, as they look darn thin at safety after allowing Reed Blankenship to walk in free agency.
The Eagles should have signed Jaquan Brisker in free agency
Of the two dozen or so safeties who have already signed in free agency, only eight landed contracts with terms longer than one year. Bryan Cook went to Cincinnati on a $40.25 million, three-year contract, Coby Bryant got $40 million over three years from the Chicago Bears after winning the Super Bowl with Woolen, and even Blankenship landed a multi-year agreement, signing with the Houston Texans for $24.75 million over three years.
Would any of those players have been exceptional fits in Philadelphia? Debatable, but assuming Howie Roseman didn’t want to sign a multi-year contract with a safety, those players would likely be off the Birds’ free agent board.
Of the players who only agree to one-year contracts, one in particular stands out as an easy fit in Philadelphia on a very cost-effective price: Jaquan Brisker.
A college teammate of Ebiketie at Penn State in 2021, Brisker spent four years in Chicago after being selected by the Bears in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, starting every game he appeared in despite playing alongside players like CJ Gardner-Johnson and Kevin Byard. While his stats weren’t particularly elite in Chicago, Brisker fit the bill of a prototypical two-deep safety, taking away one half of the field while providing support against the run and over-the-top help for perimeter cornerbacks.
Because of the way Fangio runs his defense, the Eagles really don’t need certified superstars at safety, with the veteran coordinator instead valuing players who get to the right place at the right time and maintain their schematic integrity, instead of freelancing to make plays at the expense of giving up something bigger if things don’t work out like CJGJ.
With Brisker officially signing a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, there are still a few options on the open market that the Birds could sign, with Kyle Dugger arguably the biggest name of the remaining crop after his own run in the Steel City came to an end. But Dugger is more of a box player than a true two-high option, which makes him a less-than-ideal fit in Fangio’s defense, even with former Patriots defensive assistant, Mike Pellegrino, now locked in as the Eagles’ secondary coach.
With eight picks in the first five rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft, including two in the third round and two more in the fourth, the Eagles will be very well positioned to add a Fangio-style player at safety in April, even if they miss out on the elite prospects like Caleb Downs, Dillon Thieneman, and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren who will most certainly be off the board within the first 64 selections. But going into the season with Andrew Mukuba, Sydney Brown, and maybe Marcus Epps as the “veteran” safety options on the team is a less-than-ideal option, even at a “less valuable” position in Fangio’s defense.