The 2022 Senior Bowl takes place next week, and it’s certainly worth paying attention to in regards to the Seahawks. The college all-star event has seriously influenced the Seahawks’ drafting in past years. General manager John Schneider has picked 30 attendees in his 12 drafts in Seattle; the team's interest has become a meme-level trend.
Even before we receive the measurements out of the Mobile Convention Center—and even prior to the invaluable practice film arrives from Hancock Whitney Stadium—there are already three position groups with a clear Seattle feel.
In the first part of this miniseries, we dove into the 5-techs/big ends that will be present in Mobile, Alabama. Then, we went over the event's big offensive tackles in part two. Now, let's look at the lengthy cornerbacks who physically fit the mold of what the Seahawks have traditionally targeted at the position.
Long Cornerbacks
In recent seasons, the Seahawks have moved away from their tall and long cornerback mold, adding corners to the roster whose arms did not meet the notorious 32-inch threshold. Damarious Randall, D.J. Reed and eventually Tre Brown formed part of the smaller type, with Carroll likening it back to his days at Arkansas and being more Donnie LeGrande than Perry Williams.
However, with Seattle’s head coach reportedly desiring more of an “attack mindset” and “aggression” on his defense, returning to the bigger corner profile might make sense. It’s not that the smaller mold cannot press receivers; in fact, Reed and Brown played far scrappier than Ahkello Witherspoon did, for instance. It’s just that long arms and a tall frame naturally give cornerbacks a physical advantage when jamming opposition.
The Senior Bowl practice sessions will showcase exactly who connects nastily with wideouts at the line of scrimmage, particularly in the one-on-one drills. And the event—with the caveat of this being a pre-measurement deal—will have numerous intriguing lengthy cornerback prospects in attendance.
Senior Bowl executive director Jimy Nagy’s most-hyped player of his pre-event media appearances was UTSA cornerback Tariq Woolen. Woolen is expected to be raw given he has only played corner for two years following a conversion from receiver. Yet he looks likely to be the height-weight-speed player who will rise in the process.
“You know, we had Ifeatu Melifonwu in the game last year—Detroit took him in the third round?” Nagy told Rob Staton of SeahawksDraftBlog. “Ends up starting at the end of the year for the Detroit Lions and played very well, from what their staff said. And I think Tariq Woolen will make a similar jump. I wouldn’t rule out Tariq Woolen getting to the end of the first round based off people in the league I’m talking to.”
At the start of the college football season, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman listed Woolen at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds with a 40-yard-dash under 4.4-seconds and an 11-foot-5 broad jump.
“Man, they just don’t make guys like this,” Nagy described of Woolen to the Draft Dudes Podcast. “I’ve gotten texts from a bunch of GMs in the league. When we got Tariq, they were like ‘Man, so glad you got him. We can’t wait to see him.' I don’t think there’s any way Tariq Woolen gets out of Day 2; and to me, it’s not out the realm of possibility that this guy sneaks into the late first round. I think he’s a really talented guy and his best football’s ahead of him because he’s only played the position for two years being a former wideout.”
“Tariq’s a big, 6-3 corner, 6-3-plus right? I think he measured over 6-3, you know, 205 pounds, he’s gonna run in the low 4.3-seconds,” Nagy elaborated to the I-Formation Podcast. “This dude is an elite—and I hate throwing the word elite out there; I feel like it gets thrown out too much—but that’s elite height-weight-speed for that position. He’s one of those dudes, Le'Ron [McClain, former NFL fullback and co-host], when you get up on him, you can see what those measurables look like on tape, when you get up on this dude, I went to UTSA to give him his invite, this dude looks different now. I mean whatever team he goes to, he’s gonna be the best looking dude in that DB room, I promise you.”
Senior Bowl Director of Football and former NFL cornerback Michael Coe was responsible for Woolen’s scouting.
“You just gotta watch the guy man,” Coe said to the I-Formation Podcast. “You see the quick twitch and—Le'Ron, you know this—you get a guy almost 6-3, 6-3, he was 6037 bare foot, he’s a 6-4 corner at 200-almost-10-pounds. Man, you’re talking about a guy that is so twitchy. I’ve never seen a guy like that, long and lean, like really that twitchy. You know, they’re usually a little bit longer gait. But man, this dude has a real explosion, so sudden. And the thing with him: he was a receiver for most of his career, he just moved to corner. So he’s a little raw with certain things. But man, you’re talking about a guy dropping his weight and sticking his foot in the ground and exploding out of there. Just long and oh man he’ll hit you too. He’s a former receiver but he ain’t afraid to throw the shoulder on you. So like Jim said, those height-weight-speed guys go. I don’t know how people view him around the league, probably trying to keep him a secret but it’s not going to be a secret after he leaves Mobile. You can’t keep him that especially when he’s gonna run in the 4.31-seconds, apparently broad jumps 11-5 and some change. Talking to their DB coach, there’s been several stop watches on him. They just said this dude does some unbelievable things in practice, just phenomenal athlete. So that’s one of the guys I’m excited to see down here and see his athleticism on display.”
“Coming into Mobile, a lot of people might not know. But when he leaves, they’re gonna know all about him,” finished Nagy.
Two other tall corners are Washington State’s Jaylen Watson and Fayetteville’s Joshua Williams, with both listed on their team websites as 6-foot-3.
Finally, Feldman’s series looking at the athletically-gifted college football players also included Toldeo safety Tycen Anderson, who is likely to see some work at cornerback down in Mobile. Anderson’s numbers certainly make him a candidate for corner conversion in Seattle: 6-foot-2, 208 pounds with 33-inch arms, a 38-inch vertical jump and a 4.45-second 40-yard dash.
Disclaimer
Obviously, the earliness of a Senior Bowl preview is likely to end in tears. Some of these guys might become clear first-rounders—a period of the draft the Seahawks don’t have a pick in. As the tape is watched, the numbers arrive, the interviews happen and the boards settle: misery will inevitably occur. Please, though, get caught up in the excitement rather than the pessimism! I have a virtual Senior Bowl credential (going to miss overindulging on peanut butter and chocolate) and will cover the event as it happens for Seahawk Maven.
Senior Bowl Previews
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2022 Senior Bowl Preview, Part 3: Lengthy Cornerbacks Who Fit Seahawks' Traditional Mold - SeahawkMaven
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