Seahawks Draft Profile: Tariq Woolen
With the 2022 NFL Draft set to kick off in Las Vegas on Thursday, April 28, the Seahawks will have a chance to kickstart a new era for the franchise with eight selections, including a top 10 pick and four picks total in the first three rounds.
Over the next month leading up to draft weekend, the Seahawk Maven writing staff will dish out in-depth profiles on numerous prospects who could be targets on Seattle's big board.
Continuing our series, the Seahawks have typically preferred athletic, lengthy cornerbacks. Could UTSA standout Tariq Woolen be next in line to develop into a star-caliber defender in Pete Carroll's secondary?
Background
A three-sport standout at Arlington Heights High School, Woolen excelled in football, basketball, and track, making his greatest mark on the gridiron by earning First-Team All-District 7-5A recognition in Texas as a senior. After redshirting as a freshman, he began his career with the Roadrunners as a receiver, catching 24 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown before transitioning to cornerback late in his sophomore season. Developing quickly at his new position, he earned All-Conference USA honorable mention honors as a senior last season while helping UTSA post a school-best 11-1 record.
Strengths
Possessing blazing 4.26 40-yard dash speed and rare explosiveness at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, Woolen's wheels can be seen on film with his elite turn and run capabilities carrying vertical routes downfield. Staying hip-to-hip down the sideline, he uses rare 33 5/8-inch length effectively to extend arms into passing lanes at the top of routes and generate breakups.
When beaten off the line of scrimmage, Woolen's burst and long strides come in handy rapidly closing ground on opposing receivers, allowing him to recover in time to position himself to make a play on the ball. Boasting quality change of direction skills and smooth hips for a player of his size, he has the athletic traits to fly all over the field in pursuit and zero in on receivers quickly to limit yards after the catch.
Only in his second season as a cornerback, Woolen made substantial progress with technique in press coverage. Though he's still working on maximizing his length in such situations, he plays with enough physicality to negatively impact releases and has room to grow as he gains experience. His awareness passing off receivers in zone coverage improved as well, leading to an interception undercutting a route against UNLV.
While he wasn't used often as a blitzer, Woolen found success when used in that capacity near the line of scrimmage. In an upset win over Big Ten foe Illinois, he found his way into backfield multiple times to help make tackles on ball carriers behind the line of scrimmage and apply pressure on the quarterback.
Weaknesses
Still in the early stages of learning a new position, Woolen consistently struggled to find and play the football over the past two seasons at UTSA. Most of the time, he plays with his back turned to quarterback and fails to turn his head to track the football, which will be a major issue in the NFL. He got lucky a few times as a senior being able to react to the receiver's hands to make a last-second pass deflection after failing to find the ball through the air.
Lack of experience is also evident in Woolen's performance in off-ball coverage, particularly when dropping into zone. Positioning remains a major battle for him as he tries to learn the intricacies of the position and whoever drafts him will need to help him sharpen up details such as depth of drops. He had several opportunities to make a play on the football but reaction to route concepts was delayed out of zone drop, allowing easy receptions.
Caught on film in watch/observation mode frequently, Woolen seemed generally disinterested in contributing as a run defender. Along with sloppy footwork when breaking down to make a tackle, he exhibited inconsistent tackling technique, sometimes leading with his head and often failing to wrap up opponents, allowing them to wiggle free for additional yardage.
Fit in Seattle
After lighting it up at the combine in Indianapolis, Woolen has vaulted up many draft boards as a possible early day two selection. Cornerbacks with his size, length, and wide array of athletic tools don't come along often, but whoever drafts him will have to temper early expectations given his raw technique and limited experience with hopes of him emerging as a long-term starter.
If there's a team with a track record of molding such a ball of clay into a standout cornerback, Seattle stands out among the best landing spots for a player like Woolen. Carroll and his staff have long prided themselves on their ability to coach technique and for the most part the team has enjoyed great success developing long, athletic cornerbacks over the years.
While the Seahawks could draft a cornerback as early as No. 9 overall, assuming the organization sticks with past precedent, they will draft elsewhere until the third round. Trusting their ability to coach up mid-round prospects, if Woolen remains on the board in the third round or later, he would be an intriguing pick to close out day two of the draft with the potential to become a plus-starter in the league with time and patience.
Previous Seahawks NFL Draft Profiles
Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina | Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa | Arnold Ebiketie, EDGE, Penn State | Tyler Allgeier, RB, BYU | Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati
