It’s not very often you see a situation where the team is having success at a position but isn’t getting any help from one of their very talented players that broke out a season or two ago. This is exactly the case with the Seattle Seahawks and cornerback Riq Woolen.
The emergence of Josh Jobe has put Seattle in a position where they can afford to move on from a struggling Woolen despite his success in the past. With the potential clear, here are four teams that could trade for Woolen right now and see immediate returns on their investment.
Indianapolis Colts
Woolen has had varying results in his four year NFL career, showing promise in both man and zone coverage. His 6’4″ 205 pound frame is long and large for a corner which allows him the ability to defend jump balls more-so than you’d see from your prototypical slot corners or smaller outside guys.
In 2023, he ranked 11th of 138 qualified corners in EPA (expected points added) per target in man coverage. According to TruMedia, the Indianapolis Colts rank 13th in pass EPA in zone coverage, but 16th in pass EPA in man coverage. Pair this with the fact that they are thin depth-wise and are without Charvarius Ward for a few weeks and this pairing makes a lot of sense.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rank 24th in pass EPA per play allowed despite Jamel Dean ranking seventh in our PFSN CBi Impact grades. Trading for Woolen and allowing him to split time with Zyon McCollum would be a bet on his potential with little downside. Woolen ranks 109th this season in our corner grades but has posted rankings of seventh, 19th, and 16th in the three previous years.
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With an offense playing lights out regardless of injuries, Woolen could stand to improve the Tampa Bay secondary and make this team even more dangerous. He is obviously off limits for division rivals, but with Tampa being in the NFC South I could envision this being acceptable as long as the price is right.
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings rank ninth this season in zone coverage ran versus 23rd in man coverage. On deep passes (20+ yards), they rank 30th in EPA per pass allowed in zone and 28th in man. While Woolen has struggled to win with proper technique, one of the areas he excels in is zone coverage against deep balls.
With incredible speed and closing power to go along with his outlier length, Woolen would make a great addition to the Minnesota secondary. The Vikings starting outside corners are both under 6 foot tall which would make Woolen a much-needed deep ball corner for a very talented Minnesota defense.
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots currently rank 18th in pass EPA allowed and you can never have enough corners to help combat that. With Drake Maye looking great and on a rookie deal, a swing for a cheap Woolen (less than $100,000 in dead money in a trade) could be what turns the tide for this defense.
As mentioned above, Woolen’s struggles stem from relying too heavily on his physicality and less on his technique. With that being said, what better way to get the best play out of him than by leaning into his strengths. The Patriots rank eighth this season in press coverage, something Woolen has seen success with in the past.
