RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks’ seventh training camp practice Wednesday was an extended walk-through, as players wore T-shirts and shorts and went at half-speed through nearly all the drills and team reps following two days of padded practice.

That break in action allows us to take a moment and look at five players who have been standouts through the first week of camp.

Cornerback Riq Woolen

This time last year, Woolen was recovering from an offseason knee surgery, and that injury ultimately had lingering effects that impacted his play in 2023. While still productive, Woolen wasn’t the same player in his sophomore season after making the Pro Bowl and receiving All-Pro votes as a rookie. Now, he looks closer to his rookie-year form, if not better.

Woolen is the fastest player on the roster, and his long speed makes it dangerous for quarterbacks to test him deep, even if the target is DK Metcalf. Through six practices, I’ve observed just one long ball completed on Woolen, and it required one heck of a diving grab from Metcalf, who was covered well on the play.

Equally impressive has been Woolen’s coverage on underneath routes. The first-team offense has often tried to beat him with outs and comeback routes, perhaps realizing that beating him deep is easier said than done. Woolen has been good at recognizing that and working to get his hands on passes.

Metcalf presents a challenge because he has the frame to shield defenders, and trying to go through him can result in a penalty — Woolen has had a couple of those in camp — but he has the length to occasionally overcome that. Additionally, Woolen seems comfortable jumping between left and right cornerback, something he didn’t do under the previous regime, which kept him solely on the right side.

“I see iron sharpening iron out there when he is going against the wideouts, especially DK,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “Just someone that’s on a mission.”

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Quarterback Geno Smith

Smith missed practice Wednesday to have his knee and hip worked on, but those issues aren’t considered serious. He got tangled up and fell to the ground during Tuesday’s practice but got up and finished the day with no glaring issues. Health aside, Smith has been very impressive in camp. He’s consistently challenging the defense and forcing it to be right on each snap to avoid giving up a big play.

“The way he’s been playing lately is just out of his mind,” cornerback Devon Witherspoon said. “All the throws, all the keys, checks he’s making, he’s very on point right now, and (we’re) kind of making it hard for him, but he’s really making it hard for us as well.”

Seahawks training camp: Geno Smith’s sharp start and more observations from Day 1

Smith’s accuracy at all three levels has been noticeable (and much better than the other two quarterbacks). That deep completion to Metcalf over Woolen, for example, was placed in a perfect spot. Smith has done a good job attacking the seams when the defense plays single-high coverage — like this throw to receiver Jake Bobo — and working dig routes and other in-breaking routes when he sees a split-safety look (like this throw to Metcalf).

The first-team offense still has some red zone issues to work through, but as it showcased on Tuesday, the solution there might be to simply put the ball in Metcalf’s vicinity and let him make a play. Overall, Smith has been very good in practice.

Outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu

Macdonald said he wanted to feel his team’s physicality when the pads came on, and Nwosu was one of the players trying to make that happen during practice on Monday and Tuesday. Nwosu missed most of the 2023 season with a torn pec, so he was as eager as anyone to get out and hit someone, and it was obvious in his play.

The ease with which Nwosu leveled receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba on Monday using only his shoulder was an example of his strength. That same physicality shows up when Nwosu plays the run as well. It’s hard to truly judge frontline players until the preseason, but it’s clear Nwosu is off to a good start.

“He’s had a productive camp,” Macdonald said. “He’s probably argued that he deserves some more stats than we’ve credited him in the defensive room, which is a daily conversation, but we love Uchenna. Talk about the mentality that you’re looking for on our football team. He’s the leader that we’re going to rely on, especially with his opinion about how we run things.

“He’s someone that we value a lot with his toughness, his physicality, pass rush flexibility inside and out. And an underrated dropper, underrated player in coverage, so (I’m) very excited about him.”

Safety Julian Love

Love is almost single-handedly responsible for the blemishes on Smith’s training camp resume because of the two interceptions he recorded in the first week. The second interception was perhaps more of a poor read by Smith, but Love also deserves credit for reading the quarterback’s eyes and jumping underneath the route. Love nearly got Smith a third time on Tuesday when he bailed on his guy to break up a pass in the end zone.

Macdonald is using Love at both safety spots while sprinkling in some nickel duties as well, and with all that responsibility comes the expectation that he’ll make plays on the ball. So far Love, the recipient of a three-year contract extension worth up to $36 million, is doing his part.

Receiver Cody White

White went undrafted out of Michigan State in 2020 and was with the Steelers for a few years before joining the Seahawks via the practice squad in October 2023. Seattle’s receiver room is stacked with talent, but among the backups in that group, White has been arguably the most consistent.

At 6 feet 3 and 227 pounds, he’s a tough cover for some of the younger cornerbacks; he just blew by Lance Boykin for a 40-yard touchdown in a one-on-one situation in front of the entire team on Tuesday. White also beat cornerback Carlton Johnson for a touchdown early in camp, and he broke free from multiple defenders to find the end zone on a pass from quarterback Sam Howell in seven-on-seven during Tuesday’s practice.

Assuming Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Bobo are roster locks, there are probably one or two more spots open in the receiver room, and White has made a strong case thus far.

“Cody White has been having a really, really great camp,” Lockett said. “He’s another person that had spectacular OTAs, and we got to see him make a couple of plays out there today. Obviously, it’s hard to make plays because you only have one ball, but he’s taken advantage of his opportunities. He’s winning his one-on-one matchups, and I think that slowly but surely, he’s giving himself a chance to be able to continue to play this game like he knows he can.”