Wyman & Bob: What happens to Seahawks’ DBs when Tre Brown returns?

One of the best stories of the Seahawks’ 2022 season has been the play of the rookies, especially when looking at the secondary.

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Fifth-round cornerback Tariq Woolen has been arguably the best rookie in the NFL – and perhaps the best corner in football – this year as he leads the league in interceptions with four and also has blocked a field goal and recovered two fumbles.

Fourth-round nickel corner Coby Bryant has also shined of late and he’s forced an NFL-leading four forced fumbles.

Those two have been such bright spots that last season’s standout rookie has almost been forgotten.

That would be cornerback Tre Brown, a fourth-round pick in 2021 who played very well in five games and he wound up starting three games as an outside cornerback before tearing his patellar tendon, which ended his rookie season and caused him to start this year on injured reserve.

But head coach Pete Carroll expects Brown to be playing for the Seahawks very soon.

“Tre is really starting to go. He’s really close,” Carroll said this week. “He’s running really fast, he’s changing direction, it’s just can he endure it and keep coming back? So he’s not very far away now. I would say that we’re a couple weeks away, maybe, and he should really be fighting to get back out there.”

So when Brown does return, what does that mean for the Seahawks’ secondary? Wyman and Bob on Seattle Sports 710 AM tackled that topic on Thursday.

“When Tre Brown is ready to come back, what do they do? Because right now you feel really good about Tariq Woolen, obviously, and Coby Bryant. Both are playing very well,” Bob Stelton said.

Dave Wyman, a former NFL linebacker, called it “a good problem to have,” and said that Brown is a very confident player who he’s looking forward to seeing play again. He thinks that should come not at the expense of Woolen or Bryant, but rather alongside those two.

“If he can come back and maybe play a little bit on the other side from Tariq, or he can play a little bit of nickel or in the dime package or whatever and just get up to speed, I mean, based on what we’ve seen this year and last year, to me, the three best DBs right now are Tariq Woolen, Coby Bryant and Tre Brown,” he said. ” … I think they can find a way to work him in, though, that doesn’t disrupt the chemistry and things like that.”

Brown, like Bryant, is undersized compared to Woolen and more prototypical Seahawks corners we’ve seen under Carroll, so it’s natural that there’d be thought of him at the nickel spot. But Wyman doesn’t want to see Bryant taken off the field, and he doesn’t think that will happen.

“I don’t think he’s coming off the field, man. And as far as the nickel, I think he likes it, too. That’s the other thing. He likes to mix it up. He likes to hit and blitz and things like that. So I think he’s won that job. That one’s pretty locked down,” Wyman said.

Carroll loves to talk about competition, so Stelton is interested in how that plays out with Brown.

“Would they bring him in and hey, competition is on. Everybody’s job is up for grabs. And if he comes in and plays well, he’s going to take your spot Coby, or it’s going to take your spot Tariq – which doesn’t seem likely,” he said. “But it is interesting just to see how do they integrate him back? Is he the nickel guy all of a sudden? Or is Coby your nickel guy and he goes to the outside? It’s a good problem, but just interesting because of the way these two young guys have played and how good you feel.”

Listen to the full first hour of Wyman and Bob at this link or in the player below.

Carroll: Seahawks rookies shining ahead of tough matchup with Chargers

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