Into the Woods: The Unsung Vikings 2021 Acquisition
#Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he’s been really impressed with safety Xavier Woods up to this point
— Sean Borman (@SeanBormanNFL) June 16, 2021
Woods v. Harris
Woods faces the unenviable task of replacing fan-favorite, Anthony Harris. Since 2017, Woods’ first year, both safeties have shared a similar track record statistically speaking. Harris is more of a ballhawk at this stage of his career, accounting for 12 takeaways to Woods’ seven forced turnovers over the same timeframe. Although Woods has shown ample ability to be opportunistic when the ball is in the air.The All-22 tape on new #Vikings safety Xavier Woods' five career interceptions: pic.twitter.com/7zQ3C2WlXC
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) March 27, 2021
Tack | Tack | Fumb | Fumb | Def | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rk | Player | From | To | AV | G | Solo | Ast | FF | FR | Int |
1 | Anthony Harris | 2017 | 2020 | 17 | 61 | 143 | 85 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
2 | Xavier Woods | 2017 | 2020 | 18 | 60 | 172 | 75 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
Safeties in a Zimmer Scheme
Debuting as a defensive coordinator in 2000 with the Dallas Cowboys, Zimmer has always benefited from above-average to elite safety play to some extent. Whether it was Roy Williams and Darren Woodson in Dallas, Reggie Nelson and George Iloka in Cincinnati, or hell — even the ageless Lawyer Malloy during his one season in Atlanta. That trend continued when Zimmer was hired in 2014 and inherited a 3rd-year pro in Smith. The Notre Dame alumnus has, for the most part, been deployed in tandem with only two other starting safeties during the Zimmer tenure. Those two were the aforementioned Harris and Andrew Sendejo. Sendejo graded above average to elite from 2016-2019 according to PFF. Woods, for what it’s worth, already has his Sendejo imitation down.Xavier Woods with a textbook hit on teammate Chidobe Awuzie ?♂️ pic.twitter.com/CsZwMY6R18
— Joey Hayden (@_joeyhayden) December 6, 2019
What to Expect
With both starting safeties set to become free agents next spring, the future could very well be now in Minnesota. That’s a prevalent talking point this spring and summer. The Vikings will most likely make a play to retain Harrison Smith at some point before the season or early next spring. With all signs pointing towards Woods having a bounceback year after a down 2020 campaign, he will presumably hit free agency seeking to cash in. The depth behind these two is also a concern. Should either man go down with an injury, the Vikings will be thrusting a rookie or one-year veteran into the starting lineup. That brings us back to Woods and the pressure he must face being the Jekyll to Harrison’s Hyde. Information continues to leak from teammates and coaches, showering Woods with praise for his OTAs performance. Whether it is from All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson stating Woods is “Always going to be where he needs to be, going to make the right checks.” Or from new senior defensive assistant Paul Guenther blushing about how good of a communicator Woods is within this new defensive scheme (Guenther can be seen talking with Woods at the 1:26 mark in the video below.)New safety on the squad!
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) June 22, 2021
Mic'd up @its_hollyWOODS for one of his first OTAs as a Viking. pic.twitter.com/TD88ro22VI
Xavier Woods hit that has sidelined Eagles three-time Pro Bowl TE Zach Ertz pic.twitter.com/1nHgo0UsdK
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) December 22, 2019
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