New England Patriots
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Patriots player profile: Craig Woodson has the makings of a 4-down contributor
Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/2025/7/4...odson-profile-scouting-report-2025-nfl-season
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Previewing the Patriots safety heading into his first season in the NFL.
The New England Patriots’ safety position was supposed to be a strength heading into 2024, but instead the unit suffered constant personnel turnover. Heading into 2025, however, there is reason for optimism again — in large part because of the team’s offseason moves meant to bolster the depth behind projected starters Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers.
One big part of those efforts was selecting Cal’s Craig Woodson in the fourth round of the draft.
Hard facts
Name: Craig Woodson
Position: Safety
Jersey number: 31
Opening day age: 24 (2/20/2001)
Measurements: 6’0 1/8”, 200 lbs, 75 1/4” wingspan, 30 1/2” arm length, 8 3/4” hand size, 4.45s 40-yard dash, 7.06s 3-cone drill, 4.20s short shuttle, 36” vertical jump, 10’7” broad jump, 13 bench press reps, 8.75 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2020-) | College: California (2019-24)
Initially a wide receiver and running back at South Grand Prairie High School in Grand Prairie, TX, Woodson switched to defense ahead of his junior season and never looked back. He eventually was rated as a three-star recruit and picked up scholarship offers from both FBS and FCS schools. After initially committing to UTSA, he changed directions and enrolled at Cal in July 2019.
Woodson spent six years in Berkeley, with his career one of two halves. He started out as a redshirt, saw his second season disrupted by Covid-19, and missed his third altogether due to a knee injury. When he returned in 2022, he promptly became a starter in the secondary; he started 38 straight games over his last three seasons and was named all-conference each time (honorable mention All-Pac 12 2022 and 2023, third-team All-ACC 2024).
When he left school to join the NFL, he had 46 games with 40 starts on his résumé, as well as five interceptions (including one pick-six), three forced fumbles and a blocked punt. Woodson was picked 106th overall by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2025 draft.
Scouting report
Strengths: Woodson wore several hats during his time at Cal, playing all over the Golden Bears’ secondary as well as on special teams. His versatility should translate to the NFL too, and allow him to contribute on up to four downs from early on in his pro career — especially because he has already been praised for his work ethic behind the scenes in his short time in New England.
Woodson has had good production aligning close to the box, in large part due to his quick processor and natural instincts. He reads plays quickly, and has the fluidity in his movements as well as the spatial awareness to react on the fly. He finds his way to the ball carrier through traffic, and is a technically sound wrap-up tackler.
In coverage, Woodson has shown good timing attacking the ball in the air and reaching past intended targets to register a pass breakups. He also rarely finds himself out of position or overwhelmed by route combinations, misdirection, etc., and trusts his eyes and understanding of both defense and offense. Frankly, he is a “does everything well”-type of player whose football IQ is making up for some of his limitations.
Weaknesses: Woodson is a serviceable overall athlete, but he lacks standout traits that would give him an edge over his competition. He also has some limitations as far as his length is concerned, with his wingspan and arm length (as well as his hand size) below average. Those, in turn, might hinder him at the pro level when asked to get off blocks in the run game, attack receivers’ chests in press man coverage, and contest receptions at the catch point.
He also is a sound but not necessarily violent tackler when coming downhill, and his ball production does not stand out despite five career interceptions; he seemingly left some plays on the field. In addition, he already turned 24, making him a comparatively old rookie seemingly closer to his developmental ceiling.
2024 review
Stats: 13 games (13 starts) | 788 defensive snaps, 68 special teams snaps | 70 tackles, 8 missed tackles (10.3%), 2.5 TFLs | 38 targets, 27 catches allowed (71.1%), 243 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 9 PBUs | 2 quarterback pressures (1 hit, 1 hurry) | 1 penalty
Season recap: Coming off back-to-back strong seasons, Woodson picked up where he left off and produced another quality campaign to close out his college career. Starting all 13 games as a do-it-all safety who aligned deep or closer to the line of scrimmage, he was one of the Golden Bears’ most consistent defenders throughout the year.
Steady both on and off the field — he represented his team as a game day captain on multiple occasions — Woodson did have several highlight moments, too. He registered interceptions against Oregon State and Wake Forest, with the latter preserving Cal’s first conference win of the season, and ranked first on the team with nine pass breakups. While not a highlight-reel player per se, he made his presence felt on the regular.
In addition to his defensive efforts, Woodson also saw plenty of special teams snaps. Even though he was not as extensively used in the game’s third phase as in previous seasons, he still saw snaps on three units (kickoff coverage, punt return, field goal/extra point block).
The ever-reliable Woodson was named third-team All-ACC after the season and furthermore received an invitation to the Senior Bowl.
2025 preview
Position: Multiple safety | Ability: Depth player/Role player | Contract: Signed through 2028
What will be his role? Woodson has shown an ability to play close to the box as a strong safety type, as the centerfielder in single-high coverages, and in split-field looks. While it remains to be seen just how much the Patriots will put on his plate early on, he projects as a package third or fourth option to complement the likes of the aforementioned Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers as well as Jaylinn Hawkins and possibly Marcus Epps. He also is expected to see an uptick in special teams snaps again heading into 2025.
What is his growth potential? As noted above, Woodson is on the older side for a rookie player; he turned 24 in February. Nonetheless, there is room for development from both a physical and a mental perspective. If he can grow in both of those areas, he has the potential to become a starter or key rotational player in the secondary before his rookie contract is up.
Does he have positional versatility? By now, you probably know that Woodson can do a bit of everything on both defense and special teams. Obviously, the Patriots might not ask him to play on all four downs right out of the gate, but he definitely has the makings of an every-down contributor who can help out against the pass and the run as well as in different situations in the kicking game.
What is his salary cap situation? The most recent Patriots draft pick to sign his rookie deal, Woodson is carrying a $1.107 salary cap number into the 2025 season. He has a $840,000 base salary that is accompanied by a fully-guaranteed signing bonus proration worth $266,614. Given that the sum of those numbers is high enough to qualify for Top 51 status, his entire cap hit is counted against New England’s books.
How safe is his roster spot? During his time as Tennessee Titans head coach, all five of Mike Vrabel’s fourth-round draft picks made the initial 53-man roster. While there is no guarantee that Woodson will join them, his outlook is indeed very good. Unless hampered by injury, the expectation is that the youngster will be part of New England’s active roster come September 7.
Summary: Woodson may have been one of the Patriots’ more polarizing draft picks this spring, but there is no denying he is an intriguing player. Will he ever develop into a starter and/or core special teamer? That remains to be seen, but he has shown that he can play at a consistent level regardless of assignment and has the work ethic necessary to will his way into the rotation if need be.
What do you think about Craig Woodson heading into the 2025 season? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/2025/7/4...odson-profile-scouting-report-2025-nfl-season
