Seahawks ‘Unsung Hero’: Tariq Woolen or Kenneth Walker III?

If the 2022-23 Seattle Sehawks have been a film, the main man is clearly quarterback Geno Smith in a resurgence season. A big forged of principal characters additionally starred, together with coach Pete Carroll, rookie working again Kenneth Walker III and security Quandre Diggs.

However because the credit roll on, which participant would earn the highlight as unsung hero?

NFL.com picked one unsung hero, whose contributions flew underneath the radar, from all 32 groups. Rookie cornerback Tariq Woolen is the Seahawks’ choice:

The second-fastest cornerback on the 2022 NFL Scouting Mix discovered an ideal dwelling in Seattle, the place he rapidly produced, recording an interception in each recreation from Week 3 via Week 6. That is an unbelievable return on a fifth-round select of UTSA who first made a reputation for himself on the NFL stage together with his 40-yard sprint time (4.26).

At 6-foot-4 and 210 kilos, Woolen possesses the size and dimension to win press battles on the line of scrimmage and erase separation between himself and a focused pass-catcher. Woolen tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions (one returned for a landing), whereas additionally racking up 16 passes defensed, three fumble recoveries and 63 tackles. It feels as if he is solely getting began. 

Including to the ‘unsung hero’ story line, Woolen fell to the fifth spherical within the 2022 NFL draft because of doubts concerning the receiver-turned-cornerback’s lack of expertise within the secondary. Now, Woolen is a finalist for the Defensive Rookie of the Yr and a Professional Bowler. 

“Every time I first acquired right here to now, it is loopy trigger I made loads of steps,” Woolen said. “I beat loads of odds and I beat loads of expectations. Individuals thought I used to be gonna be an experiment, I am nonetheless getting higher and acquired stuff to work on, however no one thought a Professional Bowl, no one thought I would lead the league in interceptions, no one thought I would be a starter.”

Along with producing 9 complete turnovers, Woolen additionally blocked a area aim that was returned for a landing towards the San Francisco 49ers. Woolen’s clutch performs helped Seattle flip what was imagined to be a rebuilding season into a robust 9-8 season, good for the seventh seed within the NFC. 

Whereas the Seahawks completed over .500 in a shock season, the staff fell brief to the San Francisco 49ers within the Wild Card Spherical. Seattle will probably be watching the Tremendous Bowl from dwelling on Sunday, Feb. 12. The Kansas Metropolis Chiefs (1.5-point underdogs) will attempt to pull the upset over the Philadelphia Eagles in Glendale, Ariz. to develop into Tremendous Bowl LVII Champions. 

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