4 players who will benefit most from Seattle Seahawks hiring Mike MacDonald 

No. 2 - Cornerback Riq Woolen

Take everything I just said about what Devon Witherspoon was last year, and copy and paste it into what I believed Riq Woolen to be after his dominant 2022 rookie season. While this season overall is viewed as a sophomore slump, I think there's still reason to be really excited going forward with Woolen.

Yes, his physicality and tackling in 2023 were borderline embarrassing. A lot of that falls onto him, but we all saw he wasn't the only guy that was lacking in that area this season. One thing that has never lacked during Macdonald’s coaching career and environment when he's been around Baltimore and the University of Michigan, is that the toughness on those teams has never been questioned. 

Macdonald will bring toughness to Seattle and there's a strong likelihood that he can tap into the almost supernatural physical gifts that Woolen possesses, turning him into an all-around defender next season. While the physicality was lacking, Woolen still provided plus coverage in the secondary for Seattle. He only gave up 3 touchdowns and 391 yards on 71 targets, while defending 11 passes and snagging 2 INTs. It wasn't the flashy 6 INTs and touchdowns from his rookie season, but he was still a borderline #1 corner on a contender in his second season.

If the Seahawks' defense makes a leap under Macdonald in 2024, Woolen will have likely made another leap and created a dynamic duo with Witherspoon as arguably the best secondary in the NFC.