Riq
Woolen.
Riq
Woolen.
Texas-San Antonio· 6'4"· 205 lb· 4.26s 40
Woolen is a 6-foot-4 corner who runs like a return man, and every snap is built around that combination. UTSA put him on the boundary in press-bail and Cover 3, where his length disrupts the release and his stride eats the cushion back up if a receiver ever gets on top of him. Deep balls down the sideline are effectively covered by reach alone.
The technique is unfinished. He is a two-year corner who converted from wide receiver, so the footwork at the line and the eye discipline in zone lag well behind the physical tools, and he will grab when beaten inside. He tackles willingly but not powerfully. The signature is the vertical shutdown ability: nothing gets behind him, and quarterbacks who test it late pay for it.
Cover 3 or press-bail zone system that keeps long corners on the boundary with their eyes on the quarterback and safety help over the top.
Year 1: outside starter in a single-high zone scheme with simple deep-third rules. Ceiling: Pro Bowl boundary corner who takes away the vertical half of the field.
A heavy man-match defense that asks him to mirror quick slot receivers through traffic and trusts his footwork over his recovery speed.
The simpler the coverage rules, the more the physical gifts show up.
UTSA CB Tariq Woolen Highlights
Pre-draft college reel showing the press-bail technique and vertical recovery speed.
Tariq Woolen Senior Year Highlights
Player-posted 2021 cutup from his second and final season at cornerback.
Tariq Woolen (CB, Seattle Seahawks) UTSA Highlights Reaction
Frame-by-frame walkthrough of his UTSA tape after the Seahawks selected him.
Woolen is the definition of a traits bet. He arrived at UTSA as a three-star wide receiver, redshirted, caught 15 passes as a redshirt freshman, started three games at receiver as a sophomore and only then moved to cornerback. Two seasons of real defensive tape is the entire body of work, and it comes from a Conference USA schedule.
What that tape holds is unusual: a 6-foot-4, 205-pound boundary corner who ran 4.26 at the Combine, the fastest ever recorded by a player over six feet, with a 42-inch vertical and a 10-foot-11 broad jump. The production was modest — 35 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four breakups and an interception in 2020, then 25 tackles, five breakups and another pick in 2021 — because offenses stopped throwing his way. He earned a 2022 Senior Bowl invitation and tested his way into the national conversation there.
The board split badly. Daniel Jeremiah had him as the 10th corner and 79th overall, Scouts Inc. the ninth corner at 81st, and Lance Zierlein projected a second- or third-round selection, but he lasted until the 21st corner came off the board. Seattle taking him 153rd overall was a dream fit: a press-bail defense built for long corners, run by a staff with a history of developing raw ones. It is the best value pick of the round.
- 01
Rare size-speed combination
6-foot-4 with a 4.26 forty, the fastest time ever run at the Combine by a player over six feet, and a 42-inch vertical to match.
- 02
Vertical coverage
his stride length erases cushion, so deep sideline throws that would beat most corners are recovered and contested without a grab.
- 03
Length at the catch point
33 5/8-inch arms let him play the ball through a receiver's hands from a trail position rather than having to turn and locate.
- 04
Upside from inexperience
only two seasons at cornerback after converting from receiver, meaning the technique floor is low but the growth curve is still steep.
- 05
Ball skills from his receiver background
tracks the deep ball naturally and high-points it, a skill most converted corners never develop.
- 01
Raw technique
the press footwork and pedal are inconsistent, and he opens his hips early against releases he has not diagnosed, a byproduct of two years at the position.
- 02
Zone eye discipline
gets caught staring into the backfield and loses track of route concepts developing behind him, which will be punished by NFL play-action.
- 03
Grabbing when beaten
relies on his hands downfield when a receiver wins inside, a habit that produces flags once officials start calling it every week.
- 04
Level of competition and production
two seasons of Conference USA tape with two career interceptions gives evaluators very little evidence to judge against.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.26sp50
- Vertical
- 42inp50
- Broad jump
- —in
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | UTSA | 11 | 35 | 1.5 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 2021 | UTSA | 9 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Career | — | 20 | 60 | 1.5 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
Only his two seasons at cornerback are listed; all figures come from cfbstats (2020-2021) and the season sums match the career line. He played wide receiver in 2018-2019 (15 receptions for 158 yards and a touchdown as a redshirt freshman) and recorded no meaningful defensive statistics in those years, so no defensive rows are published for them. cfbstats does not list a 2021 sack table for him, so that cell is left blank rather than recorded as zero. Fumble recoveries are not published.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Starting outside corner with real ball production whose technique lapses keep him from a top-tier contract.
Converted receiver turned long Cover 3 boundary corner who becomes the defense's identity on one side of the field.
Long, fast corner whose footwork never catches up and who ends up moved inside or to a rotational role.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Seattle named him a starter before Week 1 and the rookie year was extraordinary: 17 starts, 63 tackles, 16 pass breakups and six interceptions to tie for the league lead, including a 40-yard pick-six and four straight games with an interception, plus NFC Defensive Player of the Week, the PFWA All-Rookie Team and a Pro Bowl nod. The follow-up seasons settled into good rather than elite: two interceptions and 11 breakups in 2023, three picks and 14 breakups in 2024, then 41 tackles, one interception and 12 breakups in 2025 with only seven starts as the Seahawks rotated the position on their way to winning Super Bowl LX. He signed a one-year deal worth up to $15 million with Philadelphia in March 2026.
The retrospective is that the traits bet paid off immediately and the technique concerns were also correct. He has 12 interceptions and 53 breakups in five seasons and can still take away a sideline, but the inconsistency in zone and the grabbing downfield are the reason he lost starts in Seattle rather than signing a long-term extension. For a 153rd overall pick, a Pro Bowl, a ring and a $15 million free-agent year is an outright steal.