Indy’s lone early-season waiver claim is paying dividends five weeks into the 2024 season.
Cornerback Samuel Womack III was the NFL’s second-most popular waiver claim candidate as the 2024 season kicked off, netting claims from the Colts, Eagles, and Chiefs. Fast-forward to Week 6 of the regular season and he’s starting in the Indianapolis Colts’ secondary.
Womack III was a 5th-round draft pick by the San Fransisco 49ers in the 2022 NFL Draft. Despite playing just 234 regular season snaps before arriving in Indianapolis, Womack had garnered quite the buzz from NFL teams due to his disciplined tackling and promising coverage skills.
The former Rocket joined an unproven cornerback room when he arrived in Indianapolis and is already making a name for himself after five games with the team.
On top of being the NFL’s 6th-highest graded CB, #Colts early season waiver claim Samuel Womack III (33 – bottom of screen) has been strong in coverage.
Womack in coverage through 5 weeks: 2 receptions allowed on 7 targets, 19 yards, 3 PBUs, 39.6 rating against. https://t.co/T1eISwu7fP pic.twitter.com/Ciwsth6CnH
— Noah Compton (@nerlens_) October 7, 2024
As evidenced by the above tweet, Womack III’s strong start is nothing to scoff at. He has remained stout in coverage through 4 starts this season.
Womack III is currently Pro Football Focus’ 6th-highest graded cornerback among qualifying defenders, while his 77.8 coverage grade ranks 2nd among Colts defenders.
So far this season, Womack has been impressive at the catch point. Quarterbacks have a 39.6 passer rating when throwing Womack’s way, and his 3 passes broken up are 2nd on the team. Womack has allowed just two completions on seven targets for 19 receiving yards and has yet to commit a penalty.
This impressive stretch needs to turn into a weekly occurrence before we can deem Womack III as a reliable starting NFL cornerback, but so far, so good. With Indy’s cornerback room dwindling after Dallis Flowers was subsequently waived and JuJu Brents went down with a season-ending injury, the time is now to see what Womack’s got. Nobody is claiming that he’ll become the next Richard Sherman and single-handedly cool off DC Gus Bradley’s seat, but as it stands, Womack III is shaping up to be a serviceable player at worst.
