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# Riq Woolen, Seahawks’ Underdogs Aim to ‘Finish Off’ Success Stories Hoisting Lombardi Trophy
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/riq-woolen-seattle-seahawks-finish-off-success-stories-super-bowl/
- Published: 2026-02-05T02:32:42.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:56:29.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Features, Seahawks, Riq Woolen, Jalen Sundell, Coby Bryant, Drake Thomas

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Returning to the Super Bowl for the first time in 11 years, the Seattle Seahawks have assembled the perfect blend of experience and youth in all three phases, assembling a roster full of star power with veteran stalwarts and high-upside rookies alike.

But as is often the case for teams that manage to advance to the NFL’s biggest stage, the Seahawks didn’t make it this far simply because of All-Pro talents such as Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Leonard Williams. Or off of the backs of former top-five picks in Sam Darnold and Devon Witherspoon. To win 14 games in the regular season and defeat a pair of division rivals in the playoffs, they needed contributions from players who didn’t come from such heralded beginnings.

Fortunately, replicating his success from a little over a decade earlier, general manager John Schneider has been on a hot streak over the past three years and change unearthing quality starters both through Day 3 of the draft and in the undrafted ranks, putting the franchise on the cusp of a second Lombardi Trophy.

Headlining Seattle’s core of late round picks and undrafted gems, cornerback Riq Woolen - a former Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist - has a prime opportunity to put a cherry on top of a stellar four seasons in the Pacific Northwest. After coming into the league as a fifth-round pick out of UTSA with only a couple years of experience as a defensive back on his resume, even with a few notable bumps along the way, he has been a phenomenal value pick for the organization.

Named a starter right out of the gate as a rookie, Woolen thrived early on in large part due to his rare physical tools, boasting sub-4.30 40-yard dash speed at 6-3 with long arms and freakish explosiveness, in conjunction with the ball skills he acquired as a converted receiver. Quickly becoming a no fly zone for opposing quarterbacks, he led the league with six interceptions that season, earning a Pro Bowl selection and receiving a handful of votes for All-Pro consideration.

Though he didn’t replicate those turnover numbers in any of his previous three seasons to close out his rookie contract and missed tackles remained problematic in spurts, Woolen still turned in rock solid numbers away from the interception department. This season, shaking off a somewhat sluggish start that featured giving up a game-winning touchdown catch a season-opening loss to San Francisco, he produced 10 pass breakups and opposing quarterbacks only completed 55% of their throws when targeting him in coverage.

Now, Woolen has a chance to accomplish something that most fifth round picks in the NFL can only dream about: the chance to reach football immortality by capturing the Lombardi Trophy by beating the Patriots on Sunday and playing a major role in bringing the title back to Seattle. It’s quite the far cry from when he was dueling against Western Kentucky and future NFL quarterback Bailey Zappe in Group of 6 competition at the college level five years ago.

“Honestly, it's pretty cool. It's the best situation for me personally.” Woolen reminisced. “I tell my teammates all the time, whenever I was at UTSA, we went to the conference championship and we played against Western Kentucky, who had Bailey Zappe as a quarterback. Whenever you come from a fifth round pick and come from that school, it's a great feeling to have knowing you have that feeling of your brother's got your back and we are playing as one. So being able to play in this thing is going to be pretty cool. It's amazing. It's a blessing. It shows that you can do anything. You can play corner, you can play receiver, you can switch positions. As long as you’re committed, find a way you can make it.”

Though Woolen may be the most decorated late round selection on this incarnation of Seahawks, he’s far from the only major player who helped lead the team back to the NFC mountaintop. In particular, including the lengthy, uber-athletic cornerback, coach Mike Macdonald’s defense has several other Day 3 picks as well as formerly undrafted players pitching in with significant roles.

None may be a bigger surprise than linebacker Drake Thomas, who began his career with the Raiders before being waived at the end of training camp, landing with Seattle off the waiver wire. A serious knee injury ended his rookie campaign midway through the schedule, and after a lengthy, rigorous rehab, few could have expected that he would eventually resurface as a starter alongside Ernest Jones on the top-ranked scoring defense.

But while it took a little while to materialize, that’s exactly how things played out, with Thomas gaining a major admirer in Macdonald as he worked his way back from the aforementioned knee injury. Continuing to do things the right way on and off the field, he started to see some action as a rotational nickel linebacker last season, and by the time a Week 4 road game against the Cardinals came around in late September, he had usurped Tyrice Knight as the second starter.

Running sideline to sideline and crashing through the line of scrimmage like a human bullet, Thomas nearly hit the 100-tackle mark for the first time in 2025, adding 3.5 sacks and six pass breakups to showcase his versatile game. He also delivered a clutch interception in an NFC West-clinching victory over the 49ers in Santa Clara in early January, hauling in a pass that bounced off the hands of running back Christian McCaffrey in the red zone and getting both feet down inbounds, helping cement the top seed and a first round bye.

No longer just a special teams cog, Thomas credited Macdonald and Seattle’s coaches for getting him back on track after his injury, unleashing the more decisive, instinctive playmaker that racked up 19 tackles for loss as a senior at North Carolina State. Turning into a disruptive all-around force next to Jones, he’s grateful for the shot to wreak havoc against Drake Maye and a talented New England offense with the sport’s greatest prize up for grabs.

“I don't think there's any bigger honor in our sport. I mean, the Super Bowl is the pinnacle of our sport,” Thomas said. “So to be able to do that and do with this group of guys, I feel like that's what makes it so special. I'm so blessed to do what I do and get the opportunities that I've gotten this year to be able to play this game, but I see it more as a blessing than who I get to do all this with. We have such a great organization and I'm super thankful to be a part of.”

In the secondary, one of Woolen’s own 2022 draft mates has a chance to write an exciting conclusional chapter to his story as well. Safety Coby Bryant, who began his tenure in Seattle as a slot cornerback after being drafted in the fourth round out of Cincinnati, has endured his share of adversity since a successful rookie season where he peanut punched four footballs out for fumbles.

First, Bryant missed a large chunk of his sophomore season due to a foot injury, and once he returned in the second half, he played sparingly with other defenders such as Mike Jackson and Tre Brown earning larger roles in his absence. After taking a crash course on playing safety in training camp that year, he made the full transition to the new position once Macdonald arrived, initially playing mostly special teams behind starters Julian Love and Rayshawn Jenkins.

But Bryant caught his big break in Week 6 when Jenkins suffered a hand injury that required surgery, thrusting him into the starting lineup. He picked off a pass against Kirk Cousins and the Falcons in his first start and once Jenkins returned from injured reserve, he had played far too well to relegate back to the bench, pulling a Wally Pipp and stealing the job away from the veteran. He wrapped up the season with three interceptions, thriving in Macdonald’s scheme and ensuring a starting spot for 2025.

Continuing to play well in 15 starts this season, Bryant set a new career-high with four interceptions to go with four tackles for loss and a forced fumble, setting himself up nicely for a big pay day in the spring either from the Seahawks or another team. Finding a way to earn a Super Bowl ring would be quite the finale for a former Jim Thorpe Award winner that somehow fell to the fourth round four years ago, putting an exclamation point at the end of an arduous journey to further prove skeptics wrong.

“It would mean a lot, honestly, just all the hard work and adversity I've been through, not just me,” Bryant said when asked of visions of holding the Lombardi Trophy. “It's plenty of guys that dealt with same thing or worse, you know, but it'll mean a lot just to show that all the hard work put in \[pays off\] and that God already had this journey written for us and we just got to finish it off.”

While defenders such as Woolen and Bryant can easily visualize standing on the podium on Sunday night, not every Seahawk who took an unconventional path to this moment desires getting too ahead of themselves. Take center Jalen Sundell as just one example.

Only two years ago, Seattle signed Sundell just one day before the start of training camp, which usually doesn’t bode well for making an NFL roster. But the athletic, versatile blocker impressed coaches upon arrival and managed to win a spot on the 53-man roster, and after not seeing much regular season action as a rookie, he beat out Olu Oluwatimi for the starting job in August, continuing his unexpected ascent after being viewed by many as little more than a camp body given how late he joined the roster one year earlier.

Playing with the poise and confidence of a veteran starter, Sundell didn’t allow a single sack and only 11 pressures in 13 regular season starts for the Seahawks, making the decision to tab him as the starter over Oluwatimi look like a shrewd move. Since coming back from a knee injury that cost him four games, his run blocking has also dramatically improved over the past month and change, as he has made a habit of using his athleticism to climb to the second level and dish out critical blocks to spring Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet.

For as well as he has played down the stretch and into the postseason, however, Sundell was reluctant to put the wagon ahead of the horse when asked about winning the Lombardi Trophy during the media scrum on Thursday, acknowledging that he’s “not trying to think about that” possibility too much to prevent such thoughts from impacting his preparation leading up to the game.

“Let’s just focus on this week and not think about what that means, I guess,” Sundell smiled. “It would be the cherry on top for sure, but we’ve got some work to do before then.”

History suggests that the team that wins the Super Bowl on Sunday night will have substantial contributions from lesser known role players. Even in Seattle’s own history, seventh-round pick Malcolm Smith returned a pick six against Peyton Manning in Super Bowl XLVIII, earning the linebacker MVP honors in a 43-8 drubbing at MetLife Stadium. The following year, despite losing to New England, receiver Chris Matthews came out of nowhere with 109 yards and a touchdown on four receptions.

If the Seahawks are to equal the 2013 squad and get it done at Levis Stadium, stars won’t be the only ones who need to shine bright. It will take “all 70,” as Macdonald loves to say, most notably from the late round picks and undrafted players who played such a crucial role in getting the franchise this far in the first place. Woolen and Bryant will have to bottle up Stefon Diggs and an explosive receiving corps. Sundell will be tasked with two game wreckers in the middle in Milton Williams and Christian Barmore. Thomas will be challenged as a run defender and in coverage by a dynamic duo of backs in Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson.

Simply put, to be the last team standing, the ‘Hawks underdogs will have to deliver the goods, saving the best chapter of their unexpected journeys for the biggest stage in pro sports.