Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Hype Train: New England Patriots' Craig Woodson Ready to Dominate in 2026

Starting point is 00:00:00 Craig Woodson is the second year player on this team that I cannot wait to watch play in 26. This is Lockdown Patriots. You are Locked on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Lockedon Podcast Network, your team every day. Happening. I am your host, Nick Cattles. On today's episode, the Pat's offense should be much nastier this season, and it all

Starting point is 00:00:34 starts at camp. In the second segment, the most likely destinations for Kishon Booty, if a deal gets done. But first, the Craig Woodson hype train is real, and it's fantastic. Today's episode is brought to by Fandul. The biggest stage in world soccer is here. Let there be goals on Fandul. Visit Fandul.com to get started now. Print the T-shirts, call friends, call family, call fellow Patriots fans, and hop on board because I am all aboard the Craig Woodson hype train. The sky is the limit for Craig Woodson in 2026. Look back to his rookie season in 2025. Craig Woodson improved in every aspect of the game throughout last season.

Starting point is 00:01:18 He got better and better and better throughout the year, which is exactly what you want to see from a rookie. You can go back to last year's camp. Many of us weren't sure if Craig Woodson was going to play a lot. Then Kyle Dugger, right? Looked like he was fading. out. Jibrill Peppers got cut late in camp. And then all of a sudden, it became pretty obvious before they kicked off for the games that counted last year that Craig Woodson was going to be a

Starting point is 00:01:45 pivotal player in that secondary. And that's precisely what he was. So not only was it a surprise that he was one of your starting safeties week one of 2025. It was a surprise, I think, how much better he got throughout the year. And he really hit his stride in the biggest of games. Craig Woodson in the playoffs last year, he had six past breakups, he had one interception, and he had 30 total tackles in four starts.

Starting point is 00:02:18 A lot of us are not going to remember the good about the Super Bowl. Super Bowl was rough. We all lived through it, right? Thankfully, we survived. We got to the other end as we look forward. to 2026's season. But let's not forget what Craig Woodson did in the Super Bowl. His performance as a rookie in that game is going to be overlooked. But it shouldn't be. As an individual, what he did, pretty impressive as a rookie. Craig Woodson had 10 tackles

Starting point is 00:02:51 against the Seahawks in that Super Bowl. Ten. He had seven solo tackles. He had not one, not two, but three tackles for loss against the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. He defended two passes from Sam Donald in the Super Bowl. You could argue one of his best games of the season was the biggest game of the season. You want to talk about showing up as a rookie. Again, we will remember the tough things, right? The recency bias and how we feel about Will Campbell and Will Campbell getting dragged throughout the offseason.

Starting point is 00:03:30 That was the rookie everybody was paying attention to, the guy who played very badly in the biggest game. But the guy who played really well just ignored, overlooked because the Patriots lost the game. And when the Patriots lose the Super Bowl, we don't talk about the guys who played well. We talk about the guys who did not play well. We talk about what was it, 14 pressures that Will Campbell gave up in the Super Bowl. How many people know that Will Campbell gave up 14. pressures against Seattle compared to how many people know Craig Woodson had 10 tackles,

Starting point is 00:04:05 including seven solo and three for loss against the Seahawks. And now we're talking about a player that is walking into the second year of this defensive scheme. Second year in the NFL. I mean, think about how much more comfortable Craig Woodson is going to feel this year. Think about how much more confident Craig Woodson is going to be this season. You know, Craig Woodson spoke to reporters at mandatory minicamp, and here's what he said on succeeding in year two. This is from Mike Giarty, quote, I would say the moments that I did not have confidence last year were the moments that I might have given up a play or something. For me this year, I mean, that's the biggest thing, just having confidence going in like, you know, I can make every play that's out there. I can run with all the guys.

Starting point is 00:04:53 Like I can do what I know I can do. So I just got to trust myself. The confidence level. Craig Woodson proved that he can play in the NFL last year. Without a shadow of a doubt, he proved that. Now it's taking the step forward. Now it's being more comfortable. Now it's being more confident.

Starting point is 00:05:13 Now it's understanding that less is going to surprise him on the field in his sophomore season. That's how this works. Oh, and by the way, the Patriots did Craig Woodson an incredible solid. They went out there and they signed Kevin Byard, first team all. pro don't care about your rankings lists throw them out kevin byard is a top 10 safety in football again first team all pro last year somebody who has been dependable and durable a playmaker highly highly intelligent on the field and now you put him next to craig watson kreg watson under the learning tree of kevin byard sounds fantastic to me kevin bired talked about

Starting point is 00:05:56 Craig Woodson back at minicamp. Again, here's from Mike Giarty. Quote, I think he's a very talented player, just watching the film, seeing some things that he did last year, trying to build upon that, a very smart, he's a mature guy too. I know he's only in his second year. He seems very mature and how he goes about his business. So I'm excited to be able to play with him for sure. So you think about the rookie season. You think about how Craig Woodson continued to get better. You think about him having the biggest game of his rookie season being the final game of his rookie season. And now with a full off season, watching film, getting prepared, understanding he is more ready than he was a year ago to play alongside someone like Kevin Byard. I mean, what is not to like about Craig Woodson?

Starting point is 00:06:47 His relative athletic score was 8.76 coming out of college. At the time, that was 151st out of college. at the time that was 151st out of more than 1,200 free safeties who qualified for an RAS. 151 out of over 1,200. He is plenty athletic enough. He is absolutely physical if you watch him play. And it's obvious as he got better during his rookie year, you could see the football intelligence. The football IQ is very, very high. he was reacting to things much quicker and correctly, by the way, reacting much quicker as the season went on.

Starting point is 00:07:28 He saw it better. He saw it better. He experienced it, but he also understood it. So that football intelligence. So when you mix the physicality with the athleticism and the IQ to go along with Kevin Byard and what he did during his rookie season, how are you not excited about Craig Woodson? I'm telling you, man, I am jumping on the hype train. I am there.

Starting point is 00:07:53 I'll be the conductor if I need to be. The coaches, they know more about Craig Woodson now in his second year. They know what they can get from him. They understand his strengths and weaknesses. They understand how to deploy him. Taylor Kyle's of CLNS said, hey, why not throw Craig Woodson in the box more? Kevin Byard is the GTFB type safety, right? the guy on the back end who can make plays, forced turnovers, let Craig Woodson wreak havoc in the box.

Starting point is 00:08:26 Let him go crazy. If Craig Woodson stays healthy, there should be nothing. There should be nothing holding him back from the Pro Bowl conversation towards the tail end of 2026. If he can stay healthy, what he brings to the table, the experience. expected step forward in the second year. There should be nothing holding him back aside from injury when we talk about pro bowl consideration. I am very high on Craig Woodson this upcoming season, if you couldn't tell.

Starting point is 00:09:05 The very latest on Kishon Booty coming up. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. The biggest stage in world soccer is here. and the final match should give us a memorable moment to say the least. One goal can completely change the energy of a game, shift momentum and all to the outcome in an instant. You've seen that all tournament long.

Starting point is 00:09:32 That's what makes a tournament final so exciting from the opening whistle to the final kick. And now, Fanduil is giving fans another reason to stay locked into this match with every goal pays. Bet on the match and get bonus bets for every goal scored in that match. More goals mean more bonus bets. All you have to do is turn on. your token. Imagine watching this final teams you followed, maybe not followed, and suddenly one goal changes everything. The tension builds so quickly that you're invested before you even realize it.

Starting point is 00:10:03 And now you get to benefit from each goal that is scored, from the opening whistle to the final kick for this final match. Let there be goals on Fandul. Again, it is Fandul. You can visit them at Fandul.com to get started right now. Sean Booty throughout the first month of last season looked like a future piece of the Pat's puzzle on offense. But that all has changed with the additions of A.J. Brown and Romeo Dobbs. We've got the latest on Kishan Booty's situation and some possible destinations where he could land. But thank you first for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Don't forget to check us out on YouTube. If you are, click that like button. Give us a thumbs up. We appreciate it.

Starting point is 00:10:50 Let's smack that algorithm in the neck. Don't forget to throw a comment. comment in as well. Are you as excited as I am about Craig Woodson's second season and do not forget to subscribe. Kishon Booty is still a Patriot. At the time of this recording, Kishan Booty is still a New England Patriot, but that is not from a lack of trying to trade him on the Patriots part. Bert Breer was recently on NBC Sports Boston and he said, quote, I think the plan all along has been to do right by Kishon Booty. They've tried. try to do their best to find a new home for him. If somebody called with a fifth round pick over draft weekend, he's gone.

Starting point is 00:11:32 So Kishan Booty, we know he's been on the block. The reports came out before the draft. And Bert Breer is saying the Patriots, they're trying to do anything they can to move along with the Kishan Booty experience and say, we want you somewhere else. We appreciate what you've done. Thank you for your service. But we are moving forward with who we have in the room. So how is Kayshan Bouti not worth a fifth round pick?

Starting point is 00:11:59 Why is his value seemingly low? I don't know. It could be different from team to team. I am not in those meetings. I'm not having those conversations, right? But I could take a couple of guesses. Kishan Bouti came into the league with not the best reputation. And I think he's done a lot to change that reputation.

Starting point is 00:12:23 But still, Some teams might not have had Kishan booty on their board during draft weekend a few years ago. They might look at him and say, yeah, I mean, he worked in New England, but do we really know if he's going to work here? Do we want to trust that? Do we want to give up an asset with somebody who did have a red flag or two before we even found out about the gambling thing? how he handled his time at LSU. Some of the things he has said publicly to the media about wanting the football and having a very healthy ego, which there's nothing wrong with that. But teams from the outside might be looking at that type of stuff and saying, do we really want that dude in the room?

Starting point is 00:13:02 Could be. Could be one of the reasons. Another reason could be he's in the final year of his contract. So if Kishan Bouti plays well, is his new team left with a difficult financial decision? What does the rest of the wide receiver room look like? What kind of money would Kayshan Bouti want? What kind of money would that team be willing to pay? All unknowns.

Starting point is 00:13:26 But the lack of long-term security contractually might impact the team's decision-making and say, well, we're better off just drafting a rookie in the fourth, fifth or sixth round in this past draft, somebody who we can work with over the next three or four years and get the most out of, instead of trying to throw Kishan Bouti into this offense and then be stuck with a decision at the end of the year. Do we want to keep him? Do we not want to keep him? Do teams value Kishan Bouti as more of a 2B slash 3A type guy? You know, if teams around the league think Kishan Bouti is at best a wide receiver 3, then again, they might be more willing to gamble on youth. They might say, well, we know what Kishon Booty. he is. And it's not that he's bad, but we think his ceiling is a third guy. Well, why don't we go out

Starting point is 00:14:21 and draft somebody who we think their floor might be a third guy? Their ceiling might be much higher than that. Again, contractually locked up for the next three or four years. So we're going to take a swing at that guy instead of trading an asset for K. Sean Booty. If we don't think he can be much better than he's been in New England, then we don't think it's worth it. Now, with all of that said, I still think Kishan Booty gets dealt, whether it's because of injury or something else. And I've said this from the beginning. It feels like Kishan Booty and a sixth round pick to a team for like a fifth round pick.

Starting point is 00:15:02 That's what it feels like. Maybe the Patriots are holding firm on, no, it's going to be Kishon Booty for a fifth round pick straight up. Maybe they acquiesce as it gets closer to Seattle in week one. But I still think he gets dealt, which begs the question, where could he end up? What teams make sense? I've got four of them. I think the Las Vegas Raiders would make some sense.

Starting point is 00:15:31 Right now, Jack Betch, Trey Tucker, Jalen Naylor, Dante Thornton, those are the four receivers that the Raiders are likely going to break camp with. add another guy or two. But again, you wonder, does Vegas think Kishon Booty is an upgrade on any of those guys? It feels like Vegas has a bunch of threes. Maybe Jalen Naylor is a two. I do think he's better than what we saw in Minnesota. And with more opportunity, he might produce like a number two.

Starting point is 00:16:03 But, you know, Vegas might look at this. Tom Brady might look at this and say, how much difference is there between Jack Betch? and Kashan booty. How much difference is there between Trey Tucker and Kayshan booty? We'd rather take a swing with the Dante Thornton instead of the Kashan booty type player. So Vegas is interesting possibility. Washington, all the Brandon Ayuk noise, right? I thought Brandon Ayuk was going to be a commander. I would be willing to bet a hefty amount of money

Starting point is 00:16:37 that Brandon Ayuk was going to go to Washington, play with his beef, F F, Jaden Daniels. Not anymore. Not anymore. Not after what's been going on with Brandon Ayuk. Brandon Ayuk's world is upside down. You know, if I'm around Brennan Ayuk, I'm more concerned about his mental health

Starting point is 00:16:57 than I am about his football career. So with that being said, the commanders might be in the market. They've got Terry McLaren. He ain't getting any younger. None of us do, but he ain't getting in the younger. They've got Trailin-Berkes, who made a few plays last year. Yes, the same guy that was drafted by the Tennessee Titans to replace A.J. Brown. Breaking news,

Starting point is 00:17:24 that didn't work out. And they also drafted Antonio Williams. But, you know, you look at that, Traylon Burks, how much has he done in the NFL? Not nearly as much as Kishan Booty. Antonio Williams is a complete unknown. So maybe Washington. Washington is a fit. How about Indianapolis? Might be a little bit of a surprise, but when you look at their roster, Alec Pierce is coming back from an injury. Is he going to be healthy? He has the history of being banged up. So is Alec Pierce going to be the guy they hope that he's going to be when they gave him that contract?

Starting point is 00:18:03 The rest of that wide receiver room, look, Josh Downs, everybody loves Josh Downs. I get it. but Josh Downs, is he anything more than a two or a three? Nick Westbrook Aquine. He's a fourth or fifth guy to me. Ashton Doolin. I have nothing to say about Ashton Doolin. Bad or good.

Starting point is 00:18:28 With all due respect. So Indy could make some sense. And if you're willing to trade Kashan Bouti in division, you might look at Miami. I mean, Miami arguably, and I would make the argument, has the worst wide receiver room in the league. As far as guys that we've seen play and we know what they do, their veterans right now are Jalen Tolbert, 2-2 Atwell, and Malik, Washington. But here's the problem with Miami and that possibility. Miami drafted three receivers in this year's draft, three of them.

Starting point is 00:19:08 So it feels like they would rather swing at those rookies, hope one of them or two of them hit and move on. So it'll be fascinating to see what happens and how this unfolds. I do think Kashan Bouti will inevitably be gone. I do think the Patriots are going to have to likely attach a late round pick to make it happen. but I do think those two things will end up happening. And I would not be surprised if Kisham Bouti ends up on one of the four teams that I just mentioned. Camp is almost a week away. And this offense needs to get physical.

Starting point is 00:19:51 I ain't going to say. That's next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. It sounds so old school to discuss establishing the run and shoving it down the defense's throat, especially when you have the runner up to the MVP at quarterback. But that's exactly. That is exactly the mentality I would like to see at camp in just about a week from now. Thanks for checking out the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network.

Starting point is 00:20:28 I am interested in how physical this offense will be during camp and especially during joint practices. I want to see a little bit of smash mouth. I want to see a little bit of downhill run, right? Now, I know camp is inevitably even joint practices limited with the contact and what you can do. But I do think just the mentality in, you know, some of the personnel groupings and how the Patriots are approaching their offense, even during camp practices and joint practices. That'll tell us because this team needs to get back to a physical running team. One of the weaknesses of the offense last year was they just were not as physical in the run game. Will Campbell is a perfect example.

Starting point is 00:21:15 I mean, Will Campbell, when he was at LSU, he's stomping dudes. He's mauling dudes in the run game. And you thought when Will Campbell was drafted that he was actually going to be more ahead in the run game than he was in the past protection game. I thought Will Campbell actually disappointed in the run game. I thought he was before the injury. I thought he was a pleasant surprise for the most part when it came to his past protection when he wasn't going against guys like Miles Garrett for the love of God. But I thought his run blocking left some to be desired, especially given his reputation.

Starting point is 00:21:54 He has to get back to who we thought he was going to be, right? We need to see that nasty Will Campbell in the run game. we need to see that finish over and over and over and over again so campbell fell short last year you had Jared wilson at left guard and frankly Jared wilson at left guard a little light in the took took he's not going to be mauling people he's more athletic a kind of a move offensive lineman right like get to that second level pull and get going so when you had wilson at left guard and you had Campbell at left tackle, neither a rookie was, you know, making their presence known in the run game consistently. Hopefully that changes. Because the Patriots

Starting point is 00:22:46 obviously went into this past off season saying to themselves, we've got to make some changes on the offensive line. We've got to make some tweaks because we need to see this growth. We need to see this run game be better in 2026. So Campbell needs to be. to take that next step, you know, and bring back that nastiness that we saw at LSU. I do think, as I've said, multiple times before Jared Wilson, I do think is a better fit at center than guard. I think that will make him a better run blocker. Elijah Vera Tucker, meanwhile, if you look at his career run blocking grade, it is 80.2. That's good. So Elijah Vera Tucker is an immediate upgrade at level.

Starting point is 00:23:31 guard in both facets, past protection and run blocking, but I mean, he is a guy that will make his presence felt in the run game. Michael Wennew when he was when he is right is moving people. Big Mike. The reason why he's known as Big Mike, he's big. But he also make sure that the opposition knows that he's big out there on the field. So I think, you know, the Patriots is off offensive line, it's going to be better and it should be more physical on the ground. And I also think that the Patriots, they're more equipped to go heavy, so to speak, than they were last season. Taylor Kyle's posted a couple of months ago, Patriots could have one of the most fun, heavy personnel offenses in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:24:19 Running back from Andre Stevenson, Trayvion Henderson, fullback Reggie Gilliam, tight end, Hunter Henry. At the time it was Julian Hill. We can say now Eli Raarden. And then, of course, you can go jumbo tight end, sixth offensive lineman with Caleb Lomo, which we've discussed here and there on the podcast. So with the tools that they have at their disposal, they should be able to run a legitimate eye form package, right? I know it's old school, but it's never a bad thing to be, you know, throwing out Reggie Gilliam and go downhill and pick up four or five yards on a first down. I would like to see that consistently this year.

Starting point is 00:25:00 We saw it at times last year. We need to see it consistently this season. So legitimate eye form. Love the idea. Don't have to shove Jack Westover out there. You can have the legitimate six-offensive lineman package with a major upgrade over Thayer Munford, who you picked up during the season.

Starting point is 00:25:19 Caleb Lomu should be a clear upgrade compared to Thayer Munford. So that should immediately make your sixth offensive lineman package that much better. Now the question, yes, tight end too. Can Eli Rare improve himself? From what we know, the Patriots have not added a veteran tight end. That might come up next week. One might show up on the practice field on Saturday. Sometimes that's how it works.

Starting point is 00:25:47 We don't even get a report. And then all of a sudden, you know, Will Disle's out there. So we'll see. But tight end two is something they absolutely. absolutely have to look at, especially if Eli Rairden is not quite, you know, holding his weight during these early camp practices. And also don't sleep on the physicality of these wide receivers in the solid blocking that they can give this team. A.J. Brown, pretty good blocking wide receiver. Matt Collins, pretty good blocking wide receiver. Romeo Dobbs, pretty good blocking

Starting point is 00:26:26 blocking wide receiver. If you don't trade Kishon Booty, he doesn't have much of an issue of getting into the mix. Even Efton Chisholm, Efton Chisholm showed some of that last year. When Mack Collins was out with the injury, Efton Chisholm, he was thrown out there and he was utilized in that big slot to do some run blocking. And he did not do a bad job. So, you know, when you look at this team and and how they can grow and what they can do. We always talk about the electricity and the excitement and A.J. Brown and Romeo Dauves and Travionn-Henerson and big plays and Drake May. All of that is great.

Starting point is 00:27:09 Great. Explosives are so impactful in the NFL nowadays. So we should be talking about those things. But we also should go back to some of the old-school vibe. not a bad thing to smash somebody in the mouth. And I would like to see the Patriots have the ability to smash somebody in the mouth week after week after week. That would be great. It would make you multiple.

Starting point is 00:27:44 And I do think this team has the opportunity to be more nasty on the offensive side in 2026. and that tone has to be set in camp. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe on YouTube. Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen. For your second listen, check out Lockdown NFL scouting. Kyle Crabs and Joe Marino will make you the most informed NFL fan this offseason.

Starting point is 00:28:13 Find Lockdown NFL scouting on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast. Have a great weekend. We'll see you next time.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Hype Train: New England Patriots' Craig Woodson Ready to Dominate in 2026

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