Name:  Tariq Woolen

School: University of Texas – San Antonio

Year: R-Senior

Position: CB

Measurables: 6’4”, 205 lbs (Combine Measurements)

Stats: 

General Info:

Played wide receiver at Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth, Texas, where he was also a basketball and track star. Woolen was recruited as a Wide Receiver as a composite three-star prospect. He was ranked the 1003^rd recruit nationally, the 142^nd WR recruit, and the 138^th best Texas recruit. Recruited by numerous Texas-based schools, as well as Baylor, Woolen eventually settled on the University of Texas – San Antonio and redshirted his freshman year.

Woolen played receiver for most of his first two active seasons at UTSA (his redshirt freshman and sophomore years), recording 24 receptions for 263 yards and a single touchdown. He changed to cornerback during his sophomore year in 2019.

During his junior year, which was his first season as a full-time corner, Woolen had seven starts in 11 appearances. He managed 35 tackles (20 solo), four deflections, and one pick. All four pass breakups came in UTSA’s September game against SFA.

Prior to his final season at UTSA, Woolen was ranked 6^th on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List, the annual publication that lists the most unbelievable athletes in college football. That year he started each of the nine games he appeared in, leading a very impressive Roadrunners’ defense that recorded the 10^th most turnovers in the FBS. Although not a statistical monster, he was a presence on a 12-2 team that recorded the first two shut-outs and first AP Poll ranking in school history.

Woolen had a fairly strong showing at the Senior Bowl in 2022, impressing with his fluidity and agility for a tall corner. However, he absolutely took over the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. Measuring in at a tad over 6’4” and 20 lbs., Woolen ran a 4.26 40-yard dash with elite splits and a 42-inch vertical, although he (like most CBs this year) skipped the agility drills. Per Ken Lee Platte’s Relative Athletic Score (RAS), Woolen is the single most athletic cornerback ever, scoring a 10/10 on his scale.

Positional Skills:

Strengths

• There are not a lot of 6’4”, 205-pound corners.
• There are also not a lot of corners with a 4.26 40.
• Despite switching to corner just two-and-a-half seasons ago, he showed remarkable improvement quickly, and still has a lot of room to grow.
• Showed the ability to be a force of nature in press coverage, while having a skill set that will also lend itself to zone. Should be a fairly scheme versatile player.
• He also played several defensive backfield positions at UTSA: boundary, slot, and single-high safety, though slot is probably out of consideration for him at the NFL level.
• Possesses the size to be effective in run-support.

Weaknesses

• Any team that takes Woolen does so knowing that there will be no contribution on defense as a rookie. He is so, so raw, having played corner for less than three years.
• Currently does not provide much value defending the run.
• Poor production in college.
• Struggles to get his head around to make plays on the ball.
• He whiffed on several picks in his brief time as a corner, either dropping the ball or missing it entirely.
• A very poor tackler, with misses and failures to wrap-up common in his tape.

Fit with the Packers:

If you are not a fan of the 33^rd overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, you are not going to like the player comp I am about to make. The NFL corner Tariq Woolen most reminds me of is… Kevin Charles King. He is a slightly taller, slightly bigger, slightly faster, slightly more explosive, twice as raw version of Kevin King. Like King, Woolen is worth trying to develop—with his incredible athletic ability, the sky is the limit for Woolen. Like King, he comes with a substantial risk of busting out.

Woolen feels like he would be a luxury pick for a team that is deep at cornerback… Like… I don’t know… The Green Bay Packers! While the Pack has Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, and Rasul Douglas as its top three corners (and Shemar Jean-Charles as a slot/dime back), there are certainly roster spots open for a developmental prospect like Woolen. I suspect the UTSA prospect is going to go in the 3^rd round, which might be a little rich for a CB loaded team to take a traits-based developmental player, but I certainly view Woolen as a potential target for Green Bay late on day two or early day three, especially with Brian Gutekunst’s passion for high RAS players.