Philadelphia Eagles to use All-Pro to replace former Alabama high school standout

The Philadelphia Eagles are looking to fill a significant void in their defensive backfield following the departure of former West Limestone High School standout Reed Blankenship. Blankenship, a 2016 Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 4A Back of the Year recipient, joined the Eagles as an undrafted rookie in 2022. During his tenure, he became a core piece of the secondary, recording 56 starts and earning an NFL championship ring before departing for the Houston Texans this March on a three-year, $24.75 million deal.

A New Look in the Secondary

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Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio confirmed that the team plans to tap into high-level talent to replace Blankenship, beginning with All-Pro Cooper DeJean. In the team's base defense, DeJean will handle the vacancy at safety. However, because DeJean excelled as an All-Pro nickelback last season, the scheme will shift when the team moves to nickel packages, pulling DeJean into the slot and opening up a competition for the other safety spot.

Regarding the open competition, Fangio stated: “In base, it will be Cooper. When we go to nickel and Coop comes up and plays nickel, it will be (Marcus) Epps. We’re taking a good look at Michael Carter back there. Who else am I forgetting? Yeah, Andre Cisco, and then we signed an undrafted free agent, (Kapena) Gush(hiken). J.T. Gray has been mainly a special-teams player, but he’ll get a look. So we’ll look at all those guys. It’s an open competition.”

Leadership and Development

Replacing Blankenship is not just about physical talent; the team must also address the leadership gap left by the 2025 team captain. Epps, a seven-year veteran who logged starts for both the Eagles and the Las Vegas Raiders over the past two seasons, is a primary candidate to help anchor the secondary. Alongside him, Andrew Mukuba is expected to step up after a second-round rookie season in which he started 10 games.

Fangio noted that Mukuba’s development was hampered by an injury-interrupted training camp last year, but the rookie showed promise in the final stretch of the season. “I felt like the last five or six games prior to him getting hurt, he was coming on, and, hopefully, he’ll be able to pick up from there,” Fangio added.

Adding Size to the Cornerback Room

The flexibility to utilize DeJean at safety in base packages is made possible by the addition of Riq Woolen. Woolen joins the Eagles to pair with All-Pro Quinyon Mitchell at outside cornerback. After spending four years with the Seattle Seahawks, Woolen brings a unique physical profile to Philadelphia.

“I think he’s going to play good for us,” Fangio said regarding Woolen’s 6-4 frame. “He’s a rare guy in that you don’t see many corners in the league that are 6-4... It’s hard to find guys at those heights that can move and mirror receivers that are hard to cover. He can do that for a guy his height. He can get in and out of breaks. He obviously has good downfield speed. And his length is more of an asset than a detriment in his case.”

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