Quarterback Drake Maye and his receivers, particularly A.J. Brown, stole the show for the New England Patriots at the team’s joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday. It’s hard to envision the Patriots wanting it any other way, with Brown obviously aiming to get the better of his former team.
But there were other notable performances from the practice, particularly on defense.
SB Nation’s Pats Pulpit’s Brian Hines and Bernd Buchmasser named six performances of note from Wednesday’s joint practice. Second-year safety Craig Woodson made the list.
“The Patriots secondary had an appetite for big play on Wednesday, and no player was hungrier than Woodson,” wrote Hines and Buchmasser. “The second-year safety picked off a pair of passes and registered a sack, and continues to be well on his way to making a sizable Year 2 jump next as the starter next to veteran Kevin Byard.”
The Patriots selected Woodson at No. 106 overall in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he started 15 of 17 contests, posting 79 combined tackles for New England.
Woodson also registered four tackles for loss and three pass defenses.
Patriots Safety Craig Woodson Impressive at Joint Practice
GettySafety Craig Woodson impressed two SB Nation reporters at New England Patriots joint practices Wednesday.
Woodson has been receiving a lot of love lately. Before the joint practices, Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuinness picked one breakout candidate for all 32 NFL teams.
For the Patriots, McGuinness selected Woodson.
“His 89.7 PFF run-defense grade far outpaced his 63.0 PFF coverage grade, making him better suited to playing in the box,” wrote McGuinness. “The addition of Kevin Byard III in free agency should allow him to continue to thrive in that role.
“Even a modest improvement in coverage could see Woodson begin to earn more recognition.”
Woodson started in his debut during Week 1 last season. In fact, he played every defensive snap for the Patriots in that contest.
Woodson didn’t start in Weeks 8 and 16, but he received starter-like snaps in all but two contests — a pair of blowout wins at the end of the regular season.
During the playoffs, Woodson also started all four games. He registered 30 combined tackles, including four tackles for loss, six pass defenses and an interception. The safety had double-digit tackles in the AFC wild card round and the Super Bowl.
With all of that in mind, one could argue he’s already broken out. Then again, based on how he’s been practicing, Woodson could be even better in 2026.
Patriots Safety Depth Entering Preseason Week 2
GettySafety Craig Woodson is entering his second NFL season with the New England Patriots.
It’s pretty clear the Patriots solidified the back end of their secondary with the addition of Kevin Byard III this offseason. Hopefully McGuinness’s prediction of Woodson being even better paired with the veteran comes true.
The Patriots also have strong depth at the position behind their two projected starters. Besides Byard and Woodson, the team has six other safeties on their training camp roster — Brenden Schooler, John Saunders Jr., Dell Pettus, Peter Manuma, Eric Butler and Mike Brown.
On the team’s unofficial depth chart, the Patriots have Brown and Pettus on the second-team defense. Those safeties, though, will likely have to play well, as Woodson has this week, to official earn their roles.
The Patriots will have another joint practice with the Eagles on Thursday and then face the same team in Week 2 of the preseason on Saturday.
New England will conclude the preseason at the Cleveland Browns on Thursday, August 27.
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