Seattle's Secondary After Woolen

Tariq Woolen signed with the Philadelphia Eagles to start the 2026 offseason. Woolen played 972 snaps across 20 games as a major piece of Seattle's Super Bowl season.

He leaves behind questions at CB2. Devon Witherspoon graded at 90.1 overall in 2025. Josh Jobe is the committed #2, locked through 2028 at $8M APY, and graded at 57.9 in 2025.

Draft question at CB isn't vacancy-filling, it's about future and how much draft capital should Seahawks spend on cornerback for 2026.

The Full Audit

Devon Witherspoon is the foundational corner and overall tone-setter for the Dark Side Defense. A 90.1 defensive grade, 83.8 in coverage, 90.1 in run defense across 912 snaps. He's 24, under contract, and one of the three best cornerbacks in football by film and by grade. Seattle has him on his fifth-year option and will likely sign a long-term deal through the prime of his career. No debate here.

Tariq Woolen was a meaningful part of a championship roster. His 59.9 overall grade doesn't capture the full picture. Woolen brought size, athleticism, and the kind of physical presence that matters in a secondary built around intimidation. He had moments where the tools showed up in a big way, including a 68.5 grade against the Rams in Week 16. Over three seasons, his grade told a consistent story: a starter whose physical gifts kept him competitive at the NFL level even when the technique wasn't always there. He earned his payday in Philadelphia, and he contributed to a Super Bowl ring in Seattle.

Josh Jobe, age 28: DEF 57.9 · COV 53.9 · RUN 77.4 · 965 snaps · locked through 2028 at $8M APY

Josh Jobe is the committed CB2. Seattle gave him a 3-year, $8M APY deal through 2028. Coverage grade of 53.9 and a 57.9 overall — below average by PFF benchmarks. But his run defense grade (77.4) is legitimate, and his willingness to play physical at the line of scrimmage is why the coaching staff trusts him. You don't draft a CB to fill a vacancy at CB2. You draft one to compete with and eventually upgrade the starter you've already committed to. That's the correct framing for picks 32 and 64.

The gap between Witherspoon (90.1) and Jobe (57.9) is 32.2 points, and it's locked in through at least 2028. The draft question isn't whether to address corner — it's whether a first-round pick buys a meaningful enough upgrade over a player Seattle already committed $24M to.

Behind Jobe: Pritchett graded 57.9 overall with a 60.2 coverage mark in 98 snaps — a small sample that showed enough to keep him on the roster through 2027 at $1.1M. Igbinoghene graded 55.6 overall in 373 snaps for Washington in 2025 before signing with Seattle in free agency. Jean-Charles has no 2025 grade data available. All three are depth pieces with something to prove. Pritchett is the most interesting of the group, the small sample size works both ways, and a full training camp in Macdonald's system could unlock more than 98 snaps showed. * = small sample (<150 snaps). † = 2025 grades from WAS, not SEA.

Safety Room: Legitimate Depth, One Big Question

The safety group is actually the most stable part of this roster — which makes the CB situation look even more stark by contrast.

Julian Love graded at 80.5 defensive overall, 83.0 in coverage — better than any player in this secondary except Witherspoon. He signed a three-year, $36M extension in July 2024 and is locked through the 2027 season. The injury concern (644 snaps in 12 games) is real, but Seahawks know more than we do and the contract commitment is no question. A healthy Love anchors this safety room.

Nick Emmanwori (73.4, 968 snaps, rookie deal through 2028) is the foundational safety, box/coverage hybrid Macdonald's scheme was built around. He graded 89.9 in coverage in the NFC Championship. The ceiling is real and the contract is team-friendly. Full versatility analysis at /emmanwori-versatility.

Ty Okada (75.7, 900 snaps across 22 games) is underrated. His overall and run grades are legitimate depth-starter numbers. Coverage grade of 72.6 is average-to-good. He doesn't create weak points when he's on the field.

Coby Bryant (71.4, 1,173 snaps) was the volume anchor — the most-snapped DB on the roster. He signed with Chicago in 2026 free agency. A starting caliber safety who logged more snaps than anyone else in the secondary, now gone. Depth at free safety got meaningfully thinner.

D'Anthony Bell (64.3, 221 snaps in 14 games) was limited by injury. Depth piece who hasn't had the chance to show more.

Draft Priorities

Two needs emerge from this audit:

CB2 is the first priority. Woolen is gone. Jobe is the CB2 — Seattle locked him at $8M APY through 2028. A 57.9 grade at that price point is the problem to solve. A first- or second-round corner doesn't fill a vacancy; it competes for a starting job Seattle is already paying to fill. That's the correct framing for pick 32 or 64.

The DB composite model from the Foundation Report points to Mansoor Delane (WVU, 77.0 composite) as the realistic CB1 target at 32. The drop to Keionte Scott (70.2) and Jerrod McCoy (60.8) after Delane is significant. The CB class is thin at the top.

Safety depth is a moderate priority. Love is locked through 2027. Emmanwori is locked through 2028. The starting safety tandem is secure. Bryant's departure to Chicago removes the highest-volume depth piece, but Okada and Bell are functional backups. A Day 3 safety or UDFA signing addresses this — it doesn't require a premium pick.

Connecting to the Rams Series

The LAR series — covered in detail at /rams-adaptation — showed what happens when this secondary is tested at its limits. Bryant's Week 16 coverage grade of 30.1 was the low point of the season. The players who ultimately solved the matchup (Emmanwori at 89.9 in the NFCCG, Witherspoon as the anchor) are still on the roster.

The players who were stretched the hardest (Woolen, Bryant) are gone. Whether that's addition by subtraction depends entirely on what Seattle does with picks 32 and 64.

The Methodology Note

All grades are PFF REGPO 2025 — regular season plus playoffs combined. Playoff games are included because they represent the most valuable sample available for scheme-fit validation. Love's 644 snaps (injury-shortened) are worth reading with some caution, a full healthy 2026 season will tell us whether 80.5 is his floor or his ceiling. Igbinoghene's grades are from his 2025 season in Washington, not Seattle.

Data: PFF REGPO 2025 (incl. playoffs), pulled April 2026. All grades on PFF 0–100 scale (≥85 elite, ≥75 good, ≥70 avg, <70 below avg). Snap counts from PFF snap participation data. Contract data via Spotrac/OTC.