The NFL is a dynamic operation. All 32 teams bring in players from free agency, the draft, undrafted free agency, and trades each offseason. It's an ever-ending cycle of fit, re-fit, and evolve. It's one of the aspects that makes the NFL such a fabulous league to follow, especially if you have a special team like the Patriots.
One aspect that seems to grab maybe more attention than all the others is the ever-fascinating NFL draft. Speculation abounds before and right after a draft. Then it's immediately onto the preliminary 2026 draft, just after the recent one concluded.
After the draft, rookies come aboard and live with the evaluations that analysts assign. Some are good, others not so good. Regardless, the rookie then plays, and that's where the proverbial rubber meets the road, no matter who said what about whom. Let's look at one Patriots' rookie's reactions to the analysts and see if his response was on target.
Patriots' fourth-round pick, Craig Woodson, exudes confidence
The Patriots selected speedy California safety Craig Woodson in the fourth round of the NFL draft. Nothing too extraordinary about that. Yet, every draft pick gets evaluated on a few aspects. One is if they were drafted where the analysts' consensus thought they should have been. Another is whether the position was one of the team's needs.
Drafting Woodson in the fourth round was maybe the only pick where Vrabel departed from the consensus, and also went with a less-than-needy position. It was also maybe the only questionable decision by Vrabel in an otherwise stellar offseason, generally.
Woodson is a confident young player. Here's a brief excerpt from his interview with Patriots.com,
"I think for me, I really have the versatility to do anything and even match up with a receiver if it comes down to it. For me, my play style is really anywhere. I don't think there's anything that I can't do on the field. I'm just ready to show that to Patriots Nation."
As a player considered a "reach" by some, Woodson's stats in five years at Cal seem to bear that out. He notched only five interceptions at that time and had no sacks. He had a very respectable nine passes defended in 2024, along with a fumble recovery, and he averaged a solid 75 tackles in his final three years for the Golden Bears. Special teams ability is also a plus.
Woodson has to prove his actions will back up his word
Like every rookie in the NFL, the proof is in the pudding, and that's on the field. That's where Woodson will either justify his fourth-round status or not. That pick by Mike Vrabel in an otherwise stellar off-season and Woodson's subsequent play will be square in the spotlight for those reasons.
Another aspect related to the pick that will likely follow him is that Ohio State's playmaking edge, Jack Sawyer, was still on the board when Woodson was picked. Edge was a priority need for the team, far more than safety. The Pats later addressed it with LSU's Bradyn Swinson, but Sawyer would have been a great pick in the fourth round at pick No. 106.
Time will tell whether Vrabel and company hit on this pick. Patriot Nation will certainly hope he did. Yet, a good rule of thumb for rookies, especially those considered anything of a reach, is to be seen on the field and not heard much at all. The NFL has many ways of reducing big words by rookies to big mistakes.