The Patriots have found their commander in the secondary

Had it not been for Drake Maye and A.J. Brown, the biggest story coming out of their first joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday would have been the New England Patriots‘ ability to create turnovers on defense. No player was better in that regard than Craig Woodson.

The second-year safety ended the session with two interceptions of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts; he also added a sack to his big-play production. While he was quiet on Thursday’s before eventually departing for unknown reasons — allowing cornerback Marcus Jones to steal the show that day — Woodson can feel good looking back at the joint practices with Philadelphia.

In fact, he can feel good about his entire summer so far if you ask his teammates.

“He’s been having a phenomenal camp, in my opinion. Two takeaways [Wednesday], can’t get any better than that,” said fellow safety Kevin Byard.

His development coming off an already promising rookie season has allowed Woodson to solidify himself as a stater in the Patriots secondary, and more. According to Jones, the 25-year-old has become a “commander” in the team’s defensive backfield and somebody the entire group is gravitating toward.

“He’s a commander back there in the backend. We listen to him and we trust him,” Jones said on Thursday.

“When he came in last year, he was a rookie, but when it comes to the calls, knowing what to do and everything. And now, you can definitely tell that he feels way more comfortable being in the same scheme. … You can definitely tell the comfortability. When it comes down to it, you know what to do, you can run fast and make plays, and that’s what he’s been doing.”

Woodson arrived in Foxborough as the 106th overall selection in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Despite joining a room headed by veterans Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers and Jaylinn Hawkins, he managed to quickly climb the depth chart and toward the end of summer secure a starting spot. He went on to start 19 of 21 games during his rookie season, leading New England‘s defense with a playing time share of 93.7% and effectively rendering both Dugger and Peppers expendable.

Now in Year 2, he is locked into a starting role at safety.

Outside of his own natural development, the biggest change is that Kevin Byard is now his running mate instead of Hawkins. The All-Pro has also been impressed by Woodson in their first camp together.

“He’s a very mature guy. He’s 25, so he’s not a young 21-year-old second-year player. He’s very mature,” Byard said. “He obviously played in this defense all last year, started every single game. So, it’s not like this is his first time learning everything. We’ve been helping out each other, honestly; me just bringing my experience and things I’ve seen around the league, but also as far as this defense it’s good for me to have him because this isn’t the same defense that I was in in Tennessee. We’ve been helping each other a lot and it’s been fun just getting our chemistry together.”

Woodson’s maturity and playmaking ability are also not lost to players at other positions, such as linebacker K.J. Britt or the aforementioned Marcus Jones.

“Craig is a baller, man,” the free agency signing said. “You don’t see too many Year 2 players act like a 10-year vet. How poised he is, the game is not too big for him. He just plays his game and he’s comfortable in the scheme. Knows what to do. He’s very smart. He’s just a very good player.”

He showed that against the Eagles, and the Patriots are optimistic he will also do so once the regular season begins. And, if so, the team might indeed have found a player worthy of being described as the secondary’s “commander” for years to come.