Player
Craig Woodson
S · Patriots
Craig Woodson: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
Rookie safety played in all 22 Patriots games — including Super Bowl LX vs Seattle.
RareWoodson 2025 playoff games (NE Super Bowl run)
| Round | Opp | Tackles | TFLs | PDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card (Wk 19) | LAC | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Divisional (Wk 20) | HOU | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| AFC Champ (Wk 21) | DEN | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Super Bowl LX (Wk 22) | SEA | 7 | 3 | 2 |
Craig Woodson was a rookie 4th-round pick out of Cal and the Patriots gave him every snap of the 2025 season — regular season + a four-game playoff run that ended with a loss to Seattle in Super Bowl LX.
The Super Bowl line was his single-best game of the year: 7 tackles, 3 TFLs, 2 PDs. Three tackles for loss as a rookie safety in the Super Bowl is a historic line — the kind of game that gets you a multi-year second contract.
61 tackles, 8 TFLs, 9 PDs, 1 INT — second-most tackles of any rookie DB in 2025.
Trend2025 rookie DB tackle leaders
| Player | Team | Tackles | PDs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Emmanwori | SEA | 65 | 15 |
| Craig Woodson | NE | 61 | 9 |
| Xavier Watts | ATL | 57 | 11 |
| Malachi Moore | NYJ | 56 | 3 |
| Jacob Parrish | TB | 50 | 7 |
| Malaki Starks | BAL | 48 | 4 |
Only Nick Emmanwori (Seahawks, the eventual Super Bowl winners) tallied more rookie-DB tackles in 2025. Woodson led all 2025 rookies in tackles for loss with 8 — a true indicator of run-defense involvement near the line of scrimmage.
For a 4th-round Cal safety to outproduce most of the day-2 DB class is the kind of value that justifies the Patriots' rebuild approach.
First career INT came in the Divisional Round — picked off C.J. Stroud at HOU 48.
MilestoneWoodson's only INT of 2025 came in the Divisional Round against Houston (Wk 20): he picked off C.J. Stroud on a short-middle throw to Xavier Hutchinson at the HOU 48-yard line, helping the Patriots flip field position and ultimately advance.
The combined Divisional Round line — 3 tackles, 1 QB hit, 3 PDs, 1 FR, 1 INT — is the kind of all-around game that defines safety play in the modern era.
He recovered 3 fumbles in 2025 — most by any rookie defender in the league.
SplitWoodson 2025 fumble recoveries
| Phase | FRs |
|---|---|
| Regular season | 2 |
| Playoffs | 1 |
| Total | 3 |
Three fumble recoveries from a rookie safety is a number that pops in the "ball production" column: most defensive backs go their entire rookie year without one. Woodson recovered two during the regular season (one in Week 6, one in Week 16) and another in the Divisional Round playoff win over Houston.
Combined with 8 TFLs, the profile is "hand on the ball" safety — not a coverage-only player.
22 games, 0 sacks — a downhill safety who tackles in the run game but doesn't blitz.
AnomalyWoodson 2025 full-year line
| Phase | Games | Tackles | TFLs | PDs | FRs | INTs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | 17 | 61 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| Playoffs | 4 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 21 | 81 | 12 | 15 | 3 | 1 |
Across 17 regular-season games + 4 playoff games, Woodson played 21 NFL games as a rookie and finished with 81 total tackles, 12 TFLs, 15 PDs, 3 FRs, 1 INT, and only 1 QB hit (no sacks).
That's a strong-safety-as-extra-LB profile in coverage-friendly clothing — the Patriots used him heavily in the run-fit role rather than as a blitzer. The fact that the playoff line scaled up rather than dropping off says the rookie wall was nowhere in sight.
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