Riq Woolen hasn't had the best of seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. His passer rating allowed is a career high, and he still struggles to help stop the run. The mercurial cornerback also isn't the best of tacklers.
Still, at his best, Woolen is capable of being a shutdown corner who can force teams to throw into tight spaces. Many times, those passes end up being mistakes. A great Woolen makes a fantastic Seattle defense elite. A poor Woolen makes him benchable.
He might have changed the arc of his season, and potentially the length of his Seattle Seahawks career, in Week 7 against the Houston Texans, though. Seattle was once again missing Pro Bowlers Devon Witherspoon and Julian Love, and Woolen was returning from missing Week 7.
Riq Woolen delivers a fantastic performance for the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7
Was he perfect? No. He still whiffed on two of three tackle attempts, but he did what he gets paid to do well. That is to cover wide receivers, especially on deep routes. The cornerback was targeted eight times and gave up just three completions. Those amount to 21 yards. He also had a pass broken up.
Woolen was matched up against the Texans' best wide receiver, Nico Collins, twice, and gave up just one completion for only three yards. In fact, two of the completions against the corner were to tight end Dalton Schultz. Against wideouts, Woolen allowed just the one completion. He was very good.
Rumors have swirled that Riq Woolen will be traded. Of course, those are likely coming more from NFL talking heads instead of the Seahawks. General manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald know that the team is better with a high-performing Woolen.
Plus, the depth is relatively thin after Woolen. Sure, players such as Derion Kendrick have had some moments of brilliance, but not sustained success. Josh Jobe has shown to be a quality outside corner, but ideally, the team would have a healthy Jobe, Witherspoon, and Woolen, and the defense would be even more versatile.
At least if the Seattle Seahawks are truly thinking of potentially trading the cornerback then the team's asking price for Riq Woolen must have gone up after his Week 7 performance. That might mean instead of a fifth-round draft pick, Seattle could get a fourth-round choice. Even better, the Seahawks should just hold onto Woolen and see how the rest of the season plays out.