Xavier Woods (American football)

Xavier Woods (born July 26, 1995) is an American football safety for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisiana Tech University.

Xavier Woods
Woods in 2017
No. 25 – Dallas Cowboys
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1995-07-26) July 26, 1995
Monroe, Louisiana
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:West Monroe
(West Monroe, Louisiana)
College:Louisiana Tech
NFL Draft:2017 / Round: 6 / Pick: 191
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2020
Total tackles:247
Forced fumbles:3
Fumble recoveries:2
Pass deflections:18
Interceptions:5
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Woods attended West Monroe High School where he played at wide receiver as a freshman. He moved to defensive back as a sophomore and intercepted 6 passes, including 2 returned for touchdowns.

He helped his team win a football state championship in his junior year, posting 43 tackles, 5 interceptions, 6 receptions for 233 yards and 2 punt returns for 60 yards. In his last year, he received All-state, All-Northeast Louisiana and All-district honors. He also practiced basketball.[1]

College career

Woods accepted a football scholarship from Louisiana Tech University. He started 10 games out of 12 as a true freshman at free safety, tallying 61 tackles (3 for loss) and 2 passes defensed.

The next year, he posted 71 tackles (3.5 for loss), 7 passes defensed and 3 forced fumbles. He also had 6 interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown in a win over the University of Illinois in the 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl.

As a junior he took a step back, recording 56 tackles (7.5 for loss), 3 interceptions and 3 passes defensed. As a senior, he registered 89 tackles (6.5 for loss), 5 interceptions and 6 passes defensed. He left after starting all but two games, making 181 tackles (20.5 for loss), 14 interceptions (third in school history), 18 passes defensed, 4 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, and 325 interception return yards (first in school history).

Statistics

Source:[2]

NCAA collegiate career statistics
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Season Tackles Interceptions
SoloAstTotalLossSacksFFIntYardsAvgTDPD
2013 3229613.00.0000—02
2014 5219713.51.03623038.327
2015 3719567.50.0236923.003
2016 6024846.53.015459.006
Totals 1819127220.54.061434424.6218

Professional career

Woods was one of 60 defensive backs invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.[3] He performed all of the combine and positional drills, finishing seventh among safeties in the 40-yard dash. Woods also tied for second in the three-cone drill, tied for third among his position group in the bench press, and sixth in the broad jump.[4] On March 23, 2017, he participated at Louisiana Tech's pro day, along with Carlos Henderson, Trent Taylor, and 12 other prospects. Woods beat his times at the combine in the 40-yard dash (4.51), 20-yard dash (2.59), and 10-yard dash (1.58) while also performing positional drills for scouts and team representatives from all 32 NFL teams.[5] At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Woods was projected by NFL draft experts and scouts to be selected anywhere from the fourth to sixth rounds. He was ranked as the seventh best strong safety in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[6]

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand size40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
5 ft 11 1⁄8 in
(1.81 m)		 197 lb
(89 kg)		 30 3⁄8 in
(0.77 m)		 9 3⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		4.54 s1.59 s2.65 s4.13 s6.72 s33 1⁄2 in
(0.85 m)		10 ft 2 in
(3.10 m)		19 reps
All values from NFL Combine[7]

The Dallas Cowboys selected Woods in the sixth round (191st overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.[8][9][10] On May 11, he was signed to a four-year, $2.55 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $159,888.[11]

Throughout training camp, Woods competed for a roster spot against Robert Blanton, Kavon Frazier, and Jameill Showers.[12][13] Head coach Jason Garrett named him the backup free safety to Byron Jones to begin the regular season.[14]

He made his professional regular season debut in the Dallas Cowboys' season-opening 19-3 victory over the New York Giants. On September 25, Woods recorded three solo tackles and deflected a pass in the Cowboys' 28-17 victory at the Arizona Cardinals. He recorded his first career tackle on the opening kickoff on Cardinals' running back Kerwynn Williams after a 21-yard kick return.[15] On November 12, he collected four combined tackles, defended a pass, and made his first career interception off a deflected pass from Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Matt Ryan during a 27-7 loss.[16] The following week, Woods earned his first career start at strong safety after Jeff Heath suffered a concussion the previous week against the Falcons. He recorded five combined tackles as the Cowboys were routed by the Philadelphia Eagles 37-9.[17] In Week 11, Woods earned the starting strong safety job and recorded three combined tackles during a 38-14 win against the Washington Redskins.[18] Because of injuries to other players he was moved between safety and slot cornerback during the season, and although he had some problems tackling, he finished with 41 tackles and one interception.

In Week 9 of the 2019 season, Woods recorded an interception and a forced fumble in a 37-18 win over the New York Giants, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week.[19]

References
  1. Isabella, Sean (April 27, 2017). "With NFL Draft here, Xavier Woods awaits life-changing moment". thenewsstar.com. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  2. "Xavier Woods". www.sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  3. Jon Benne (March 6, 2017). "NFL Combine results 2017: Full numbers for defensive backs". sbnation.com. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  4. "Combine Performers". NFL.com. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  5. "Bulldogs Shine at LA Tech Pro Day". latechsports.com. March 22, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  6. "Xavier Woods, DS #7 SS, Louisiana Tech". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  7. "NFL Draft Profile: Xavier Woods". NFL.com. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  8. "Dallas Cowboys' 2017 draft picks: Analysis for every selection". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  9. Phillips, Rob (April 29, 2017). "How Sixth-Round Pick Xavier Woods Helps The Cowboys' Safety Depth". DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  10. Matt Galatzan (April 29, 2017). "Cowboys Get 'Steal,' Draft S Xavier Woods". scout.com. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  11. "Spotrac.Com: Xavier Woods contract". spotrac.com. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  12. "Former Texas A&M Football QB Jameill Showers playing new NFL position". gigimgazette.com. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  13. Patrik Walker (June 27, 2017). "Could Robert Blanton land starting safety role for the Cowboys?". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  14. "Ourlads.com: Dallas Cowboys' depth chart: 10/01/2017". Ourlads.com. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  15. "NFL Game Center: Week 3-2017: Dallas Cowboys @ Arizona Cardinals". NFL.com. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  16. "NFL Game Center: Week 10-2017: Dallas Cowboys @ Atlanta Falcons". NFL.com. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  17. Brandon Lee Gowton (November 19, 2017). "Eagles-Cowboys Inactives: Alshon Jeffery ACTIVE, Tyron Smith OUT". bleedinggreennation.com. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  18. "NFL Player stats: Xavier Woods (2017)". NFL.com. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  19. Bergman, Jeremy (November 6, 2019). "Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson among Players of the Week". NFL.com.
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