There may not be a harder position to play in the NFL than corner. The league as a whole has pivoted towards offensive and protecting offensive players at all costs, and the mere act of playing defense gets more difficult by the day.

That's what makes good defensive players so important in the modern NFL. While offense is still king, a defense that can get the ball back to its quarterback at a high rate is extremely important.

That is why Tariq Woolen was such a breath of fresh air for the Seahawks last season.

While the Seahawks would tell you that they loved and believed in Woolen from the start, it would be hard to believe that anyone knew for sure that he was going to be as successful as he was.

Six interceptions and 16 passes defended is almost unheard of for a rookie DB, especially for a guy that wasn't one of the first players off the board at his position.

That rookie season was the best by a Seahawk in a long time. Now, Woolen has the very difficult job of trying to maintain that level of success.

Corner play can be extremely variable, especially on the production end. There are only a handful of guys that can get you 20+ interceptions and PBUs on a consistent, yearly basis, yet that is exactly what the Seahawks need out of Woolen.

This may be an extremely lofty goal to hold for the young DB, but the Seahawks defense still has to get much better if this team is going to make noise in the playoffs, and that will start with X-factors such as Woolen.

If Woolen can do anything close to what he did last season and pair that level of play with the new additions to the defense via free agency and the draft, this Seahawks team can get dangerous fast.

It starts at the key positions. It will be hard, but Woolen can really prove his worth to the team by doing the impossible and replicating his dominant success.

Tariq Woolen return provides huge boost to stacked Seahawks secondary

A deep secondary now has its star back.

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports