Patriots Legend Gives High Praise To Ascending Rookie After Huge Game
Many NFL draft pundits had questions after the Patriots used a fourth-round pick on safety Craig Woodson last April. The Cal product was considered a reach, especially given New England’s other roster needs at the time.
Well, those questions have been answered — and then some.
Woodson was solid throughout his rookie season but enjoyed a breakout performance in last Sunday’s divisional-round home win over the Houston Texans. The 24-year-old racked up five tackles, one quarterback hit, one interception, three pass breaks and one fumble recovery in the 28-16 victory.
On Monday, head coach Mike Vrabel called Woodson “very consistent,” a remark that prompted a reply from Devin McCourty, arguably the best safety in Patriots history.
“Plays like a 10yr vet,” McCourty wrote on X.
The advanced analytics paint a similar picture of Woodson’s performance against Houston.
He earned New England’s highest Pro Football Focus defense grade, along with the second-highest coverage grade, fourth-best pass-rush grade, second-best tackling grade and sixth-best run defense grade.
In fact, Woodson was PFF’s highest-graded rookie across all four divisional-round games.
Woodson and the Patriots defense will look to continue peaking at the right time when they visit the Denver Broncos this Sunday for the AFC Championship Game. The winner will face either the Los Angeles Rams or Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.