Womack’s 33% forced incompletion percentage leads all qualified cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. He averages 19.3 snaps per reception allowed, which ranks fifth among qualified cornerbacks.
Indianapolis was not in the plans for Samuel Womack III until nine weeks ago, but the Colts cornerback feels unleashed ever since emerging as a full-time starter in his third NFL season.
Womack was the sole addition to the Colts vulnerable secondary after being claimed off waivers from San Francisco on Aug. 28. It does not matter if he’s tired or injured, Womack just wants to be on the field rather than riding the bench. The former fifth-round draft pick played under Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, who was the defensive coordinator during his rookie season in San Francisco. Before strapping up to face Ryans in Houston, Womack explained how Ryans always managed to get the best out of his players.
“Really just pushing me everyday to just strain, play harder and work harder,” Womack III said in Friday’s zoom conference. “As long as you did that for DeMeco (Ryans), he didn’t really trip about a lot of stuff. You had to give maximum effort and go hard every single play, every single day and be consistent with it.”
There may not be a more exhausting position on the gridiron than having to guard the best receivers in the league. It’s even more difficult when considering his opponent is often bigger and stronger than him. Despite being the lightest defender on the Colts roster, listed at 189 pounds, Womack has thrived to fill an essential role and help keep the defense afloat. Womack’s 33% forced incompletion percentage leads all qualified cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. He averages 19.3 snaps per reception allowed, which ranks fifth among qualified cornerbacks.
“(Ryans) helped instill that in me and that’s why I don’t take plays off,” Womack said. “You don’t really see a lot of laziness in me, because that (mentality) was instilled in me from the first day I walked into the NFL.”
It can’t be easy to uproot to Indianapolis seemingly overnight and have to trust new teammates both on and off the field, but the Detroit-native has scrapped and clawed his way to get to this point in his career. Womack is a former walk-on at Toledo, who ultimately set the program’s all-time record with 42 career pass breakups (Quinyon Mitchell reset the record with 46 in 2023). His 73.8 coverage grade ranks 11th out of 82 cornerbacks that have played at least 164 coverage snaps through Week 8. Womack has drawn zero flags and his career-high five pass breakups are tied for ninth among all cornerbacks.
“Even with the game plan and the scheme, it was similar to what we ran in San Fran,” Womack explained. “So once I started learning the verbiage and how they talk over here and started speaking the same language, it became way easier. It took me like a couple of weeks to really get it down pat.”
The Colts are slated to face some of the league’s best receivers in November, including Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Bills’ Amari Cooper, Jets’ Davante Adams, and Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown. Womack has earned the opportunity for his first career start in a prime-time matchup against the Vikings (5-2) on Sunday Night Football. The Vikings boast the seventh-best scoring offense in the NFL, averaging 26.9 points per game. Minnesota’s explosive passing attack ranks fifth in the league, averaging 7.9 passing yards per play.
Womack is set to earn $985,000 in 2024, but he can’t afford to take plays off. He’s lost his roster spot before and vowed to never let that happen again.