On Tuesday morning when meeting with reporters, Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator provided some high-praise for cornerback Sam Womack.
When discussing Womack’s impact this season, Bradley mentioned that Womack reminded him of Casey Hayward, a two-time second-team All-Pro who Bradley coached when he was with the Chargers.
“Very football savvy, very smart, high football IQ, studies receivers, studies routes — things like that,” said Bradley about Womack via The Athletic’s James Boyd. “He’s got some speed, too.”
Womack has been an excellent find by GM Chris Ballard and has provided the Colts’ cornerback room with some much-needed stability.
A fifth-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2022, Womack was released in late-August during roster cutdowns. The Colts then claimed Womack on waivers.
Since making his Colts debut in Week 2 after JuJu Brents was placed on injured reserve, Womack has allowed only four completions on nine targets and on those receptions, he’s allowed just 6.8 yards per catch.
Womack has been terrific at making plays on the ball with five pass breakups. In fact, he leads all cornerbacks with a forced incompletion rate of 56 percent. The next best cornerback is at 30 percent.
With Womack’s play, he quickly went from sharing reps with Dallis Flowers to being the Colts’ top cornerback option opposite of Jaylon Jones.
Hayward was a second-team All-Pro during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. During that two year span, Hayward was targeted 168 times, allowing a completion rate of just 50 percent with 11 interceptions and 28 pass breakups.