Samuel Womack III Brings Ball Skills, Special Teams Upside to Colts

The Indianapolis Colts claimed cornerback Samuel Womack III to fill out their roster on Wednesday.

August 18, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Samuel Womack III (0) celebrates after a defensive stop against the New Orleans Saints during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Indianapolis Colts have finally made a move for a cornerback, claiming former fifth round pick Samuel Womack III off of waivers from the San Francisco 49ers. Womack III, 25, has appeared in 216 defensive snaps and 337 special teams snaps in his two years with the 49ers prior to coming to Indy.

Womack III is a fascinating athletic profile to dive into, as the 5'10" 187 pound cornerback is a bit smaller than the typical Chris Ballard mold. He makes up for that lack of size with fantastic length, however, boasting arms just short of the ideal 32 inch threshold (31.875 inches). On top of that, Womack III also posted fantastic agilities and overall athletic scores back in his pre-draft testing.

After being selected in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Womack III saw some action late in games as a rookie for the 49ers. He grabbed his first career interception in week 11 against the Arizona Cardinals while also adding a pass breakup earlier in that outing. He also added an additional seven tackles on special teams that season as a gunner on the outside.

Samuel Womack III's first career interception came back in 2022 late in a blowout.

Womack III (1) is tied with JuJu Brents (1) for the second most career interceptions in the Colts' CB room, trailing only Kenny Moore II (17) pic.twitter.com/Uhp2SZc4Ez

— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) August 28, 2024

Looking at Womack III's preseason film this year, he appears much more comfortable on the outside than in the slot. He's a bit more prone to miscommunications and misreads from the slot positioning, while staying on the outside allows him to attack receivers downhill with a full head of steam.

Womack III's outside reps against the Las Vegas Raiders in the preseason finale are really strong. He came away with three pass breakups, including an impressive break on a deep out late in the ball game that nearly resulted in an interception. The Colts may view him more as a slot in Indianapolis, but he may be at his best when aligned on the outside and could even contest for snaps on this team on the outside.

Samuel Womack III preseason highlights against the Las Vegas Raiders (yes, I know I'm a degenerate) pic.twitter.com/6ot7hu60q7

— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) August 28, 2024

Overall, Womack III is probably in a similar tier of player as Darrell Baker Jr. and Dallis Flowers on the outside, so this added competition should be good for the rest of the roster. His length and ball skills are intriguing and he could be an upgrade in overall consistency over the two aforementioned roster players.

At worst, Womack III gives the Colts a solid special teams player with intriguing athletic upside. He may not be the upgrade the Colts needed at the position, but he is the only thing we got at this point in the offseason.

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