4 Seattle Seahawks who need to silence their doubters in 2024

Riq Woolen - Seahawks cornerback

From fifth-round rookie Pro Bowler to finding his way to Pete Carroll's dog house in year two, Woolen must prove to the new coaching staff that he is a good coverage cornerback who can also set a hard edge against the run. Woolen appears to have bulked up this offseason to get stronger and show he can help stop the run and cement his starting spot, but he needs to prove he can do that on the field.

Woolen is big enough to play a lot like Richard Sherman did. The third-year player can be physically imposing on the outside to ball-carriers. He did that to some degree in 2022. After suffering a knee injury in minicamp last year, though, he appeared to play scared, as if he thought he had suddenly become more fragile.

There were a couple of overall positives to Woolen's game last year, though. He allowed fewer yards per completion and fewer yards when targeted in 2023 compared to 2022. The happiness might stop there.

He allowed more passes to be completed when targeted, missed more tackles, had a much higher quarterback rating allowed, and had four fewer interceptions. Woolen obviously has the physical ability to be a great corner because he was so in his rookie year. He also has apparently re-committed himself to holding up against the run as he had added muscle. He and Devon Witherspoon are capable of forming one of the better cornerback duos in the league, but Woolen has to hold up his end.