Seahawks Practice Snapshot: Good day for QB Drew Lock and offense

At the risk of turning readers off early, Wednesday was a largely uneventful day of Seahawks training camp – there were no fights, no big interceptions, nor any big injuries to speak of. But a practice with no surprises is a good thing for a Seahawks offense that’s looking to stay consistent and efficient.

Two days ahead of their first preseason game, the offense managed to be just that.

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As with anything in August, take this with a grain of salt. Saturday’s test against the Pittsburgh Steelers will tell fans more about either quarterback than any practice or mock game. Players will be running at full speed and, importantly, defenses will be able to make contact and sack QBs. It’ll be a test particularly telling for Drew Lock, though he’ll be as prepared as he could be after what was probably his best day of camp so far.

Lock, who remains behind veteran Geno Smith on the depth chart, also managed to get a series in with the starters near the close of practice Wednesday.

Wide receiver Dee Eskridge and linebacker Jordyn Brooks were among those remaining out of practice. Also out were linebackers Tyreke Smith, Iggy Iyiegbuniwe and Jon Rhattigan, cornerbacks Tre Brown (PUP list) and John Reid, safety Ryan Neal, and wide receivers Marquise Goodwin and Freddie Swain.

Speaking of Eskridge, the 2021 second-round pick who has been working his way back from a hamstring injury, he did get some work in as a target for the quarterbacks during position drills. He also caught from a JUGS machine post-practice.

WR Dee Eskridge remains sidelined but he’s getting in a bit of work helping out the QBs. Currently catching some passes from Lock, Smith and Eason. pic.twitter.com/ucpKGiOroK

— Stacy Jo Rost (@StacyRost) August 10, 2022

Tariq Woolen gets extra time

Rookie cornerback Tariq Woolen got plenty of work on Wednesday given the number of injuries to Seattle’s defensive backs – second-year pro Brown, Reid (groin), and veterans Artie Burns (groin) and Sidney Jones (concussion) remained out.

Woolen’s physical tools have never been in question – he runs a 4.24 40-yard dash at 6 foot 4 and 209 pounds. Rather, his lack of experience at corner was a knock coming out of UTSA. On Tuesday, Woolen joined us on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy to talk about his transition from wide receiver to defense as a redshirt sophomore.

“I wasn’t really getting too much playing time at receiver at the time,” Woolen said. “It was pretty crazy just because I always thought I deserved to play as a receiver. Then one day my coach was like, ‘Hey, would you like to move to cornerback?’ and I was reluctant at first because I’d never played defense in my life. At practice I’d try to go with the wide receivers, and they just kept forcing me to go to the DBs, so that’s how it really happened.”

Woolen transitioned to defense shortly before COVID restrictions hit college campuses and athletic departments, meaning he had to find help in some unexpected places.

“I remember when COVID hit, it was around the time when I really started to buy in (to playing corner) and I started working with a trainer,” Woolen said. “He wasn’t a real trainer or anything. He was a guy who had played football before. He was a FedEx driver at the time, his name was Thailand Pierce, and I used to just train with him and we’d go at it each and every day. After COVID restrictions had released… that’s when I got to meet with the (team) coaches and I just started learning the techniques they taught me.”

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