Rookie Tariq Woolen Making Strides at Seahawks’ Training Camp

It wasn’t long ago that Tariq Woolen was a three-star recruit at wide receiver. After committing to UTSA, Woolen was determined to become a star on the offensive side of the ball. However, he quickly found that wasn’t in the cards when he was asked to spend time at cornerback. Woolen approached his new position with the same ferocity, albeit after some initial pushback.

As a redshirt sophomore in 2019, Woolen shifted over from one boundary position to the other. His former head coach, Frank Wilson, proposed the idea in an attempt to get the superb athlete some playing time. Visions of catching game-winning touchdowns in the Super Bowl quickly turned into visions of snagging game-winning interceptions. There were some growing pains, as to be expected, but Woolen quickly made his head coach look like a genius.

Woolen, who stands at 6’4 and weighs in at a stout 205 pounds, is unlike any athlete that has ever come through the UTSA program. He possesses mythical speed and some insane hops (we’ll get back to this later). Woolen also has a very lanky frame, oftentimes looking like Mr. Fantastic when out in coverage. He’s not exactly the strongest guy in the world, but he’s as feisty and chippy as they come, which serves him well at the cornerback position.

Ultimately, Frank Wilson was fired following the 2019 season, leaving Woolen in an interesting predicament. Thankfully, his new head coach Jeff Traylor presented Woolen with the option to remain on defense or switch back to his initial wide receiver position. As we all know, Woolen chose to stick it out on defense, and the rest is history. Woolen went on to start for two seasons as the top cornerback for the Roadrunners, garnering enough attention nationally to earn an invite to the Senior Bowl.

When Woolen arrived in Mobile, Alabama for the event, his life would change forever. Here, Woolen was pitted against the best seniors in the entire nation. From top programs all the way to little-known D2 schools, everybody who was anybody got invited. Rather than feeling out of place, Woolen immediately made his mark on everyone in attendance. He flexed his elite athleticism, using it to stick with the best of the best in each drill.

Woolen clocked an astounding top speed of 22.45 mph, good for the best time ever recorded at the Senior Bowl. He impressed in team drills, one-on-ones, and the game itself when given the opportunity. Many fellow prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft class could hardly fathom the type of athlete they were witnessing in front of them. He made so many shockwaves, which led to a well-earned invite to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

Woolen continued showing off his mind-blowing athleticism to NFL scouts in attendance. He set the place on fire when he ran an astonishing 4.26 in the 40-yard dash, a time that should not be possible for a person of Woolen’s size. He posted the highest vertical jump (42”) of any player, regardless of position. Not only did Woolen standout in the athletic testing, he performed extremely well in the interview process as well. Entering the Combine, he was still mostly unknown, but after he left Indiana, this was no longer the case.

Tariq Woolen Looking to Follow in Richard Sherman’s Footsteps

UTSA is not a powerhouse program and it’s rare to see a player from that school get invited to the Senior Bowl, let alone the Combine. Marcus Davenport is the only first-round pick in program history, and heading into the 2022 NFL Draft, he was one of only two players to ever be drafted to the NFL from UTSA. The aforementioned Davenport in 2018, and sixth-round tight end David Morgan II in 2016 were the only ones to speak of.

As the 2022 NFL Draft approached, Woolen began hearing a bevy of rumors around his name. Could he go as early as day one? Would he fall out of the draft entirely due to inexperience at cornerback? Who was going to a take a chance on this wide-receiver-turned-cornerback with only two years of starting experience? The answer to all these questions turned out to be Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks.

It really should come at no surprise that the Seahawks were willing to take their chances on a player with the sheer amount of upside that Woolen brings to the table. What was surprising, is the fact that it took five rounds before anyone made the selection. While few had him ranked as high as I did (No. 23 overall on my Big Board), most agreed that he’d likely come off the board in the round three or four range. It ended up taking 159 picks, but the day Woolen had always dreamt of finally arrived.

Rather than sulking over the fact he was taken so late, Woolen immediately used this to add more fuel to his fire. If there’s anything Tariq Woolen loves more than the game of football, it’s proving people wrong. The critics were still aplenty, posing questions as to whether or not Woolen could even make the roster for 2022. He entered the Seahawks organization bound and determined to put an end to any questions regarding his worthiness. His shoulder is full of chips, so what’s another?

The Seattle Seahawks are in the midst of retooling their roster. I am reluctant to call it a full-scale rebuild, because that wouldn’t be an accurate portrayal of the front office and their intentions. This isn’t going to be some long rebuild, mostly because head coach Pete Carroll is getting up there in age. The 2022 season doesn’t look to be a great one for the Seahawks, but armed with loads of draft capital and cap space, general manager John Schneider won’t let it become a pattern.

The main goal for 2022 is to develop the talent that is currently on the roster. Seattle will allow their rookies plenty of playing time, without the expectations of being a playoff-contending team. In doing so, rookie’s will experience considerably less pressure than they would in most other places, while also having a franchise with a track record of success behind them. If that’s not the perfect formula for Tariq Woolen to reach his full potential, I don’t know what is.

Woolen has been a regular at the facility since being drafted, showing up early and leaving late most days. Entering training camp, the Seahawks’ secondary faced a slew of question marks. Sidney Jones, Artie Burns, and Tre Brown are all solid players, but it is safe to say that none of the three offer the same upside as Woolen. Still, those four will be in stiff competition for snaps, along with fourth-round rookie Coby Bryant.

Early reports at training camp say that the two rookies have shined. Bryant is more of a fundamental type of player, not really possessing elite athleticism, but using his natural instincts for the position to make up for it. Woolen is the opposite right now, but he’s already shown improvement in terms of mental processing and technique. It’s worth mentioning that the three veterans haven’t gotten as many reps, as they’re all either healing or keeping fresh for the regular season.

Back to Woolen. It’s being reported that he has real potential to gain a starting role on the defense at some point in 2022. Woolen has earned more and more reps with the first team as camp has gone on, even earning the starting role at right cornerback for three practices running. We’ll see if that continues into the season when the veterans are all 100%, but if Woolen has anything to say about it, he’s not going to give the spot back without a fight.

Among the standout plays that Woolen has made at Seahawks’ training camp, perhaps the most impressive is the fact that he’s staying stride for stride with Marquise Goodwin and DK Metcalf. Many times, especially in their first training camp, rookies can become timid when they line up across from such freak athletes. Not Woolen, though. He welcomes it.

Seahawks’ beat writers have heaped tons and tons of praise at the feet of Tariq Woolen. A few of the things he’s applauded Woolen for include: using his length to disrupt passing lanes, being in position to make interceptions, and using his athleticism to cover for any deficiencies in technique. Here he flexes his long wingspan by knocking the ball away in coverage:

If we want to play devil’s advocate, it’s easy to say that he’s doing this in a practice setting against Drew Lock and Geno Smith. That’d be a fair rebuttal. If you polled executives around the league, I’d be stunned if any of them didn’t have the Seahawks in the bottom five in terms of quarterback situation. Add in the fact that Lock is still learning the system, and it makes sense that things are shaky on the offensive side of the ball in Seattle.

However, at the end of the day, they are NFL players. And a guy from UTSA is not only proving he belongs, he’s one of the best players at Seahawks’ training camp thus far. The aforementioned Marquise Godwin is a legit track star, and we all remember what DK Metcalf looks like at top speed. I don’t care what setting, flag football, paper football, nerf football, it is impressive as can be that a rookie can effectively neutralize their impact.

Long-time defensive line coach, Clint Hurtt, was promoted to defensive coordinator earlier this off-season and is in line to be the play-caller for the first time ever. Hurtt is only 43 years old and blends old school style with new age concepts. The first major shift will come with the team moving to a 3-4 base set, rather than their patented 4-3. One other thing to watch for, and this will impact Woolen, is the secondary.

The team is known for sitting in their zone and assigning a certain area to each player. Hurtt wants to incorporate more of a matchup-zone style of defense. Rather than a guy guarding a specific spot on the field, he will be more free to stick with his assignment in coverage. This gives those cornerbacks, like Woolen, with elite mirroring, the ability to utilize it. They won’t be moving away from the Cover-3, but it is undoubtedly going to be a different variation in 2022. Hurtt has the talent to be bold with his play-calling.

So, with a scheme that fits Woolen like a glove, as well as the ample amount of opportunity available to earn snaps, it’s easy to see why everyone is so excited about the guy. He’s a one-of-one athlete and when you hear him speak, you believe everything he says. The Seahawks have turned a fifth-round cornerback (Richard Sherman) into a Hall of Fame player, and Tariq Woolen could be the face of Seattle’s next incarnation of the Legion of Boom.