Seahawks Wednesday training camp notes: Tariq Woolen vs George Pickens gives fans something else to root for
8/10/22: Seahawks coaches must be as pleased with their rookies as the Steelers coaches are with Pickens
The Seattle Seahawks travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers on Saturday and while preseason openers so rarely feature storylines that will be as relevant come Week 1, neither team has the luxury to sit their starting quarterback this weekend. Because neither team knows who their starting quarterback is going to be in Week 1.
Therefore, Seahawks fans can watch Saturday’s game with high levels of interest for an exhibition contest, and it’s not only because of Geno Smith or Drew Lock…two quarterbacks who normally wouldn’t be skipping the preseason anyway.
Both teams also feature rookies and key training camp standouts who will be making their preseason debuts and potentially even starting early in their careers: If George Pickens vs. Tariq Woolen isn’t an ESPN A-story yet…it could be very soon.
Today’s Seahawks training camp notes is a FREE bonus post, but please consider upgrading to premium for only $5 to keep the chains moving.
If the Seahawks had drafted Pickens this year instead of Boye Mafe or Ken Walker III, it’s safe to guarantee that he would be the number one player that every Seattle follower is talking about right now. After all, he’s drawn the most attention in Pittsburgh already for his daily highlight reel catches, his comps to Hall of Fame receivers, and hype that is rarely heard for a player who has yet to even make his first preseason appearance.
As encouraging as these reports must be for Steelers fans, they aren’t all that surprising to Pickens fans, people who have been following him since he was a five-star recruit coming out of high school. Then an outstanding freshman at Georgia, and only a second round pick because of a torn ACL suffered last spring in practice. If not for that injury, Pickens may have been the top receiver drafted and through two weeks of training camp it looks like he should have been.
Then again, if draft stock had any merit, Tariq Woolen wouldn’t have been a fifth round pick already threatening the job security of several veteran Seahawks cornerbacks.
Woolen’s greatest offense as a draft prospect was merely a lack of experience at the only position that the NFL was interested in him as: a cornerback. Everything else in the package, including his 4.26 speed and 42” vertical on a 6’4 frame with 33.5” arms, screams that if Woolen had played at Alabama or Ohio State, he could have cartwheeled into the top-30 picks without even playing a snap in 2021.
This is not to say that Woolen or Pickens have done enough to prove themselves as NFL players. It is only to say that Woolen and Pickens have done enough to prove themselves as one of the most intriguing matchups in the entire league for preseason’s opening weekend.
And that’s all I’m really asking for at this point.
When George Pickens gets his first target from Mitch Trubisky or Mason Rudolph on Saturday, it will be just as much his opportunity to prove he should start as it will be for any quarterback in this game. When Tariq Woolen or Coby Bryant step to the line across from Pickens, Chase Claypool, or Diontae Johnson, they will also feel just as much weight on their shoulders to prove that they belong with the pros.
Both Woolen and Bryant have starred at Seahawks training camp and in the mock game last Saturday, enough to think that by season’s end at least one of the rookies will be starting. Injuries to Sidney Jones IV, Artie Burns, and others have reminded fans that the rookies could be tasked with starting much sooner than that.
In Bryant’s case, Pete Carroll’s words about having “a better feel” for him than Woolen makes complete sense and probably indicates that the head coach who unearthed Richard Sherman, Brandon Browner, and Byron Maxwell, sees limitless possibilities with the fifth round receiver-turned-corner out of UTSA. Maybe Bryant feels similar to Shaquill Griffin, a probable starter early in his career but never a player trusted to shutdown a team’s number one.
And Woolen is more of the Sherman variety, a former receiver who can actually go step-for-step, leap-for-leap, and catch-for-catch with the best wideouts in the NFL.
I don’t know if that’s true or not yet…but I’m ready to believe that it is true because what else are we doing here if not hoping to see something special? And not ruling it out until we absolutely have to.
What’s so great about the “lacks experience” red flag is that we don’t have 30 or 40 games worth of footage that gives us reason to be skeptical. While those players usually don’t end up becoming the stars that we fantasize them turning into, there’s no risk of that talent disappearing once the prospect shows sign of real development.
Whereas an injury risk, character issues, or “this guy simply can’t do (that) in a game” may linger for an entire career, the beauty of needing more development or converting positions is that if it happens-it happens!
We were not even halfway through Richard Sherman’s rookie season before it became very apparent that Seattle would have a gem for years to come. Same with Doug Baldwin. If Woolen gets a few games into his career showing off real abilities as a cornerback, it would be completely fair to feel optimistic that the Seahawks got a day one pick on day three.
We aren’t there yet. But with each new day in training camp, we keep getting closer. With a starring performance on Saturday against some legitimate NFL receiving threats, it will be too late to hope to slow down the Tariq Woolen hype train.
That’s a 4.26 locomotive.
Here’s what happened at Seahawks training camp on Wednesday. Please consider sharing Seaside Joe with a Seahawks friend/on social media/through word of mouth if you like what you’re reading.
Geno Smith-Drew Lock, Day…. Whatever day it is
I do not put ANY stock into how the Seahawks are splitting reps with the quarterbacks in practices yet. Everything has gone exactly as expected and until Geno Smith takes most reps with the 1s next week, I will not believe that he’s “in the lead” to start.
Everything Pete has done has pointed towards Geno getting to be QB1 through the first preseason game. Only if Geno Smith is the starter in the second preseason game (which would be kind of funny, a little illogical) will I believe that the Seahawks are unimpressed with Drew Lock. Which is not to say that they are impressed either, but I think Pete would have to be disappointed to not give Lock a preseason start in Week 2 and a week with the 1s.
Nothing we’ve seen in practice reps, nothing said by Pete to the media has implied that the team is disappointed in Lock. Pete mentioned one ugly throw/decision by Lock early in camp and that they’ve kind of used those moments to steer him in the right direction. These next two preseason games will be Seattle’s chance to see their teaching in action.
Debut of CB Jameson Houston, #32
The team signed Jameson Houston on Wednesday (read: 15 players potentially falling out of favor at other training camps who the Seahawks might be interested in) and he may see action as early as Saturday. The Seahawks will need cornerback help given all the injuries at the position.
I mean, really, I do get sick of myself referencing the “running backs don’t matter crowd”, but has anyone else noticed the league-wide attrition rate at cornerback recently? It’s very concerning.
Ken Walker is a home run threat on every play
Cliff Avril and more “former Seahawks” sightings
Did this used to happen every year and we’re just now covering it because Russell Wilson is gone? Or is this a new phenomena? I’m really asking:
Out: CB Artie Burns, S Ryan Neal, LB Jordyn Brooks, others
Slowly working back: WR Dee Eskridge
Rookie CB duo
Coby Bryant has worked at nickel several times this week. Looking ahead to the Broncos in Week 1, the slot receiver could be speedy K.J. Hamler or even former first round pick Jerry Jeudy. Really at this point, we can’t say for sure if Hamler or Jeudy was the better pick. But Denver is likely to have real talent in the slot for Russell Wilson to be targeting against the Seahawks nickel corner. Is that going to be Justin Coleman?
I actually DON’T like seeing Nick Bellore at LB
Not great news about the linebacker injuries.
Out: WR Marquise Goodwin, WR Freddie Swain (Rest)
New CB techniques with Karl Scott
Maybe lost in the shuffle when talking about Woolen and Bryant is the work of Karl Scott. This is just me looking through the deck.
Mixed signals at RT
The Seahawks seem to be testing the right tackle positions in as many ways as they can, with Abe Lucas expected to start on Saturday. Is Lucas just a better fit for the Geno Smith offense? Does that mean that if Lock wins the job, Jake Curhan will be the right tackle?
Noah Fant-One drop, one catch
Shelby Harris on Charles Cross
We haven’t heard that much about Charles Cross yet and I don’t want to speculate too much about why that is. It’s possible you could infer that no news is bad news, why rock the rookie’s confidence if the media doesn’t quite know what it’s looking at? But isn’t it also fair to wonder if no news is good news? Like most offensive line situations?
I will wait to judge until the games begin, but if Cross struggles as a rookie, it won’t worry me.
Pete Carroll has been very effusive in his praises of Karl Scott in various interviews. As a fan, I sort of take that with a grain of salt because It comes from Pete and everything is rosy this time of the year. But it’s really reassuring to see the player’s perspectives agreeing with Pete too. For the last few years, seeing players like Tre Flowers and Diggs saying theyre confused by their assignments after the Vikings game and secondary giving up lots of yards had me questioning how much of that was from poor coaching. Then passing game coordinator Andre Curtis was fired.
Great write-up. I can't wait for Saturday to see what we've got.