Tag: Riq Woolen

Seahawks corner Riq Woolen amazed by improvement of offense

Nobody would know better than the guys who have to face that unit every day in practice.

The Seahawks roster will be largely the same as last year at the positions that matter most in 2024. Improvement will have to come from their new coaching staff, and that’s reason for Seattle fans to be hopeful. Head coach Mike Macdonald is arguably the top defensive playcaller in the league, while offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb could claim to be the best offensive playcaller in college football the last couple of years.

Nobody would know better than the guys who have to face that unit every day in practice. Here’s a clip of Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen talking to Bump and Stacy about facing Grubb’s offense in practice and how much better it is compared to last year.

You can listen to the full interview here:

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Mike Macdonald says Seahawks expecting ‘big things’ from Riq Woolen

Mike Macdonald says Seahawks expecting ‘big things’ from Riq Woolen

If there is a strength to this Seattle Seahawks defense, it is their secondary. Led by the No. 5 overall pick last year, cornerback Devon Witherspoon, the Seahawks have depth at this position.

One such asset, at least on paper, is third year pro Riq Woolen. Originally a fifth round selection, Woolen exploded onto the scene his rookie year as another lengthy, speedy cornerback. However, a tumultuous sophomore season (which saw him get benched) and the Seahawks picking two corners in this year’s draft has many wondering just how safe Woolen’s job is.

If early practices are any indication to Woolen’s status with the team, it seems concerns for him are unwarranted. At least right now. Head coach Mike Macdonald was nothing but positive when talking about Woolen. According to John Boyle at the team website:

“I think Tariq’s in a great spot… We had a great conversation today, and I’m expecting big things from him. just like everyone else on the defense and on the rest of the team, we’re going to be pushing him, because there’s greatness in there.”

Still, it is early, and drafting a pair of corners from Auburn in the draft cannot be overlooked. This will be one of, if not perhaps the biggest storylines for the Seahawks this summer. Are DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett more in line for what Macdonald wants in his defense? Or are they depth picks to help push Woolen to the greatness his head coach believes he has?

One thing is for certain: any starting jobs in this secondary will most assuredly be earned by merit, not by name recognition.

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The Seahawks already had a pretty strong cornerback room heading into the 2024 offseason.

The Seahawks already had a pretty strong cornerback room heading into the 2024 offseason. In free agency they chose to retain high-quality backups such as Artie Burns and Mike Jackson and in the draft they added two more corners: Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James, both out of Auburn. They join projected starters Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen, both of whom have already made a Pro Bowl team.

With the two new rookies in the fold, Seattle now can legitimately claim to have the deepest cornerback group in the league. According to Doug Farrar at Touchdown Wire, this is one of the most-improved units around the NFL.

“There are two cornerbacks from Auburn ready to write their names in something — Nehemiah Pritchett with the 136th overall pick in the fifth round, and D.J. James with the 192nd pick in the sixth. These gentlemen are added to a cornerback group that already includes 2022 rookie Pro Bowler Riq Woolen and 2023 fifth-overall pick Devon Witherspoon… Pritchett and James are already used to working together. With Pritchett and James, it got to the point where they would decide which side of the field they were covering pre-snap.”

The Ravens, Eagles and Packers also made significant investments at cornerback this offseason – and those teams are generally among the best at drafting from year to year. More evidence that smart teams see this as a critical position for the modern game and the Seahawks were right to push more chips in this direction, even though they already seemed to be set.

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Seahawks save almost $2 million on new contract for CB Mike Jackson

According to a report by Brady Henderson at ESPN, cornerback Mike Jackson has agreed to a new contract with the Seahawks.

According to a report by Brady Henderson at ESPN, cornerback Mike Jackson has agreed to a new contract with the Seahawks.

Jackson was going to be playing under the restricted free agent tender this season, valued at $3.116 million. However, under the new deal he will only be getting about $1.22 million, saving the team roughly $1.89 million in cap space for 2024.

Jackson had been the team’s main backup at the right boundary cornerback position behind Riq Woolen. However, this move likely means he will be demoted to third behind rookie corner Nehemiah Pritchett, who took most of his snaps at rookie minicamp on the right side.

As of this morning the Seahawks only had about $1.6 million in cap space, so this should put them around $3.5 million total.

Seattle does have one extra spot on the roster thanks to offensive tackle Max Pircher’s international player exception. Bringing back either Jamal Adams or Rashaad Penny for depth are among the options for the Seahawks to fill that spot.

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While most accounts have Woolen’s second season as being a disappointment, he played well enough to earn himself a sizable bonus.

No team in the NFL may be as blessed as the Seahawks are at the cornerback position. Last year they spent a fifth overall pick on Illinois corner Devon Witherspoon, who came into the league a fully-formed superstar. The previous year they landed a gem in the fifth round of the draft in Riq Woolen out of UTSA.

While most accounts have Woolen’s second season as being a disappointment, he played well enough to earn himself a sizable bonus. Yesterday the league announced the performance-based pay distributions for players around the NFL from last season and Woolen earned $839,154 which was the 10th most in the league.

Like his rookie year, Woolen continued to do strong work in coverage in 2023, earning a 75.0 overall grade from PFF and posting two interceptions and a 79.8 passer rating allowed. However, he got poor marks for his run defense (37.3) and missed nine tackle attempts (14.5%). Woolen was even benched at one point in favor of Mike Jackson.

If he wants to hang onto that right boundary spot in the long run, Woolen will have to show more willingness to help out in run D and put his nose in there to make tackles. However, he has all the physical tools he needs to be an All-Pro in the future, the same as Witherspoon.

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Twitter can’t believe the Seahawks compared Riq Woolen to Pat Surtain

The Seahawks posted a graphic that implied Riq Woolen was comparable to Pat Surtain. Fans on Twitter/X did not approve.

The Seattle Seahawks posted a bizarre graphic on their official Twitter/X page last week that seemingly suggested Riq Woolen is comparable to Pat Surtain.

The graphic showed targets against Surtain and Woolen (93 vs. 71), completions allowed (56 vs. 41), interceptions (1 vs. 2), TDs allowed (3 vs. 3) and yards allowed (701 vs. 391). A key stat Seattle did not mention: Surtain played 1,121 snaps whereas Woolen played 939 snaps.

Surtain was named a Pro Bowler this season. Woolen, a Pro Bowler last year, was benched during the 2023 season.

Surtain responded to the graphic last week: “lol this is crazy ! And I didn’t give up nowhere near 700 yds btw.”

Pro Football Reference credits PS2 with allowing 660 receiving yards in 2023 and Woolen with allowing 384 receiving yards.

Surtain clarified in a follow-up tweet that his response was not a knock against Woolen: “And I got nothing but respect for Riq that’s my boy lol 💯.” It seems that Surtain was merely surprised to see the Seahawks make the comparison. Denver Broncos fans were also shocked.

Takeaways and observations from Eagles 33-25 win over Giants in Week 16

We’re looking at takeaways and observations from the Philadelphia Eagles 33-25 win over New York Giants in Week 16

Philadelphia snapped a three-game losing streak and needs to beat Arizona next week and defeat the Giants again in the season finale to finish atop the NFC East.

The Eagles (11-4) now hold a one-game lead over the Cowboys in the NFC East after their 33-25 win over the Giants on Christmas Day.   Philadelphia is 11-0 at the Linc against New York since 2014 and beat the Giants three times last season in Brian Daboll’s first season.

With the matchup complete, here are takeaways and observations of the ugly win.

Instant analysis of Eagles 33-25 win over the Giants on Christmas Day

We’re looking at the instant analysis of the Philadelphia Eagles 33-25 win over the New York Giants on Christmas Day at Lincoln Financial Field

It wasn’t pretty, but the Eagles (11-4) now hold a one-game lead over the Cowboys in the NFC East after their 33-25 win over the Giants on Christmas Day.

Philadelphia snapped a three-game losing streak and needs to beat Arizona next week and defeat the Giants again in the season finale to finish atop the NFC East.

The Eagles are 11-0 at the Linc against New York since 2014 and beat the Giants three times last season in Brian Daboll’s first season.

With the matchup complete, here’s an instant analysis of the ugly win.

Highlights and takeaways from first half as Eagles hold a 20-3 lead over Giants

We’re looking at takeaways from the first half as the Philadelphia Eagles hold a 20-3 lead over the New York Giants on Christmas Day

The Eagles needed some good vibes at Lincoln Financial Field, and through one half of play, Matt Patricia’s defense has been stout while holding Brian Daboll’s offense to three total points.

On offense, A.J. Brown broke DeVonta Smith’s record for receptions in a season, while Jalen Hurts moved past Cam Newton for rushing touchdowns in a season.

Philadelphia is up 20-3, with room for more efficiency.

With the second half underway, we’re looking at highlights and takeaways from the first half.

Eagles vs. Giants inactives for Week 16: Ben VanSumeren to make 1st NFL start

The Philadelphia Eagles released their list of inactives and rookie linebacker Ben VanSumeren will start in place of Nicholas Morrow and Zach Cunnnigham

The Eagles released their list of inactives for Christmas Day, and rookie linebacker Ben VanSumeren will play a critical role, with Zach Cunningham and Nicholas Morrow ruled out.

With the linebacker depth already thin, Philadelphia will counter Saquon Barkley with Shaquille Leonard, VanSumeren, and Brandon Smith, who was elevated from the practice squad for today’s game.

Guard Cam Jurgens will start at right guard after missing last week’s game in Seattle. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith was a limited participant at practice on Saturday but has no game status designation and will play.