JT Woods is a senior safety that is from San Antonio, Texas. Woods is an experienced player having played in over thirty games in his career at Baylor. This past season Woods led the Big 12 with twelve interceptions and is in my opinion one of the unsung heroes of this much improved Baylor defense. At Baylor Woods thrives in two high situations where he can keep the play in front of him until it develops and then he is able to use his speed too close to the receiver/ball carrier. Woods shows to have good range and make up speed on the back end that assisted in him being able to intercept multiple passes. Against the run Woods shows to have good closing speed and will deliver violent blows to ball carriers when he arrives. In the NFL Woods athleticism combined with his ability to always be around the football should allow him to be a contributor early on in his career and with experience can develop into a playmaker on the backend of defenses. 

 Ideal Role: A safety in two high schemes (a few words)

Scheme Fit: 2 man under Cover 2 or Cover 4 

FILM EVALUATION

Written by Keith Sanchez 

Games watched: List the games watched to study player. Oklahoma (2021), Ole Miss (2021), Oklahoma State (2021), Texas (2021) 

Best Game Studied: Ole Miss (2021)

Worst Game Studied: Texas (2021)

Football IQ: Woods football IQ is inconsistent. There are instances where he shows to be a quick processor and makes great plays in both pass coverage and in the run game. And then there are times where it seems that he may have a hesitation to pull his trigger and make the play that is the correct play. 

Tackling: Being a physical presence is something that Woods seems to enjoy. He has a quick trigger down hill on run plays and will run the alley full speed to deliver a big time hit. Because Woods is always full speed he sometimes overruns plays and will give ball carriers opportunities for cutback lanes because of his pursuit. 

Versatility: While I don’t believe Woods has much scheme versatility, I do believe he has versatility in playing both the run and pass. Meaning I believe that he is able to roll down into the box and be a serviceable run defender due to his physical nature. And in pass coverage he has enough speed and range to play twenty yards of the ball.

Range: Woods was able to run a 4.3 40 yard dash and it shows on film. Woods makes multiple plays where he uses his speed and athleticism to close no passes and either intercept the ball or deliver a jarring blow to receivers to knock the ball loose. Woods is

Ball Skills: This player’s ball skills are proven by his interceptions. Woods was able to haul in six interceptions from the safety position by using his speed and instincts. Woods is really good at keeping the play in front of him and then braking downhill to intercept the pass once he sees the quarterback release the football.

Run Defending: Woods has a quick trigger playing the run. When he is able to diagnose a run Woods accelerates downhill to meet the ball carrier. Woods is not the most physical safety but when he arrives he tackles he uses all of his tackling power to become an enforcer from the safety position.

Functional Athleticism : Woods is a great straight line athlete. His straight line speed is evident on the film and he proved that by running a 4.3 40 yards dash at the combine. The only issue of Woods’ athleticism would be some of his lateral movements. St times would show some lower body stiffness that prevents him from making fluid speed turns in the open field.

Competitive Toughness: Woods toughness is shown through his physicality when tackling. Woods likes to run full speed into ball carriers to provide a physical presence for this Baylor defense. He also likes to deliver big time blows to recover who are attempting to go up and catch a pass that may be high. Woods has a bit of an old school mentality playing the safety position with a physical mindset. 

Flexibility: Flexibility is a trait that Woods needs to improve on. There are multiple occasions here it seems that he cant open his hips and run with receivers as much as possible because he may have some lower body stiffness.

Special Teams Ability: Woods is everything you would want in a Day 1 special times contributor. He has great speed and loves to seek violent collisions. I believe that Woods can play Day 1 as a special teams starter and can become one of the best special players in the NFL if he keeps this mentality combined with his natural athleticism.

SCOUT GRADES

TDN Consensus: 75.00/100 (Third Round Value)

Crabbs Grade: 74.00/100

Marino Grade: 74.00/100

Sanchez Grade: 74.50/100

Weissman Grade: 76.50/100