Craig Woodson
New England PatriotsModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
STM Take
Rookie tier 5 (#39) for a 117th overall 4th-round pick is on the upper end of the year-one band for Day 3 S prospects. The California Pac-12 31-start pedigree plus the structural Patriots anchor role gives him real college foundation. The 2026 question is whether Woodson crosses into tier 4 territory in his year-two jump or whether the structural rookie tier 5 finish becomes the stable baseline.
Woodson came out of California as the New England Patriots' 4th-round pick (117th overall) in 2025 after starting 31 games for the Golden Bears. The Patriots installed him in the safety rotation as a rookie. His first STTM appearance comes in 2025 at tier 5 (#39), the year-one developmental band for 4th-round S prospects.
Strengths
- California Pac-12 31-start pedigree plus the 117th overall draft slot gives him real college foundation.
- Year-one starter snaps for the Patriots at age 22 gives him the developmental runway.
Concerns
- Single tier 5 finish without prior STTM history caps the long-term projection certainty.
- Patriots' broader defensive identity transition plus the QB rebuild compresses the structural support around Woodson.
What to watch: Whether Woodson crosses into tier 4 (top 30) in 2026, the standard year-two threshold for 4th-round S picks on stable-starter trajectories.
Comps
Craig Woodson Injury StatusNot listed
Craig Woodson is not on the injury report as of Oct 7. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.
Draft & College
He went well ahead of consensus.
Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.
Of the 450 players taken as a fourth-rounder between 2012 and 2021, 38% earned a second contract and 26% became starters. The median one started 11 career games.