Seahawks training camp: Riq Woolen out to prove growth in pivotal contract year

New York Times

2 days ago

RENTON, Wash. — Riq Woolen's first three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks have been a bit of a roller coaster.
A fifth-round selection in 2022, Woolen was arguably the best player in Seattle's extremely talented draft class. He received All-Pro votes, made the Pro Bowl and finished third in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. Then Year 2 got off to a rocky start because of a knee injury that required surgery, and he wound up being benched at times during the regular season. Year 3, the first under coach Mike Macdonald, also had peaks and valleys, including a benching in Week 16 for violating team rules.
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Macdonald, who doubles as the defensive play caller, has said that Woolen is an elite coverage player — when he's fully focused. There's no better time for Woolen to be 100 percent locked in given he's entering the final year of his rookie contract. Throughout this offseason, coaches and teammates have said Woolen is hyper-focused on his craft.
'Riq's locked in this year,' third-year cornerback Devon Witherspoon said. 'He just continues to be better. Riq's got a lot of stuff to show a lot of people.'
What would Woolen like to show?
'I just want to show people that I'm Tariq Woolen, (and) I've gotten better in every aspect of my game progressively each year,' he said. 'People get obsessed with stats but at the same time when you don't look at the stats and you look at the body of work I put in, I feel like I've gotten better. … Now I just gotta put it all together. That's what I feel like is going to happen.'
As a rookie, Woolen tied for the league lead with six interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He has 11 career interceptions, tied for fifth in the league over the last three years; Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland (13) is the only cornerback with more in that span. Last season, he allowed a passer rating of 83.7 when targeted, according to Pro Football Focus. It was the highest passer rating allowed of his career but still a decent number for a starting corner (for comparison, Witherspoon's passer rating was 100.3 last year and in the low-80s as a rookie).
Woolen believes he has improved his coverage and tackling each year, but 'staying locked in throughout' is one of the most important aspects of his game — and the area he's worked on most.
'When you're a good corner in the league, there's not going to be too many balls thrown your way,' Woolen said. 'You've got to make sure you're locked in because the one play that you're not locked in, that's when something can happen. That's what I wanted to hone in on: being locked in on every play.'
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Once a fan favorite, Woolen has spent much of the past two years receiving online vitriol. Woolen said he finds that 'funny,' but he also understands it is part of life as an NFL player.
'It doesn't get to me. I understand how fans are,' Woolen said. 'But I know I'm Tariq Woolen. I know I'm one of the best corners in the league. And I know that at the end of the season I'm going to prove it.'
The Seahawks believe they're capable of being the best defense in the league. A consistently focused Woolen would certainly help them achieve that goal. And that would likely land Woolen a lucrative new contract in a booming cornerback market.
Three cornerbacks from Woolen's 2022 draft class signed new deals this offseason. Derek Stingley Jr. of the Houston Texans, the No. 3 pick in that draft, signed a three-year, $90 million extension. Sauce Gardner was selected by the New York Jets one pick later, and he recently signed a four-year, $120.4 million extension. Buffalo's Christian Benford was a sixth-round pick that year, and he signed a four-year, $69 million extension.
Woolen said those deals are 'motivational.' Meanwhile, the 26-year-old aims to heed the words of close friend Kerby Joseph, an All-Pro player in Detroit who signed a four-year, $85 million deal making him the highest-paid safety in the league (Joseph was a third-round pick in Woolen's class).
Joseph's advice to Woolen: 'Stay the course. Your time is going to come, just keep balling and be patient.'
'That's all I've been doing,' said Woolen, who is set to make $5.3 million this season. 'I don't really care about too much of what everybody else got going because that's taking away from my joy. But I know my time will come, and I'll be fine.'
On Friday, Macdonald praised Woolen for not only playing well but also for being present, focused and not bothered by distractions such as a potential new contract.
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'Everybody has got stuff going on. Obviously Riq's got stuff going on with contract stuff, possibly; that's not a secret,' Macdonald said. 'But he's bought in. He's all in. He practices his tail off. There's things he wants to work on and there's things I'm thinking of that he needs to improve, but he's doing a lot of great things as well.'
Woolen is typically solid in this setting and has performed well so far, even though drills tend to favor the offense. As a rookie, Woolen flashed clear potential to be special — because he was the only one on the team tall enough to look DK Metcalf in the eyes, fast enough to run stride-for-stride with him and had the hand-eye coordination to fight for any 50-50 ball. Guarding shorter, shiftier wideouts like Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a different challenge, but Woolen is usually well-equipped to handle those matchups.
This year's training camp has been no different. Woolen can stay with shifty slot receivers like Cooper Kupp and run step-for-step with vertical threats like Marquez Valdes-Scantling. On Thursday, he nearly came across the field to rob a crossing route Sam Darnold threw to tight end Elijah Arroyo. The key for Woolen is sustaining that high level of play on a daily basis, then carrying that into the regular season. Woolen knows this, which is why he's made it a point of emphasis. If he can deliver, the Seahawks may have one of the NFL's best secondaries. And instead of vitriol, Woolen may be on the receiving end of a massive pay raise.