Xavier Woods Is Making an Impact in Minnesota
Adam New
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After playing four years at safety with the Dallas Cowboys, Xavier Woods made his way north to Minnesota this offseason. His time in Texas started well, with the former Louisiana Tech alumnus showing enough in his rookie season to garner a starting role in Year Two. After a couple of reasonably good years, last season wasn’t a good one for Woods, and the Cowboys decided to let him leave. In need of a starting safety, the Vikings came calling.
He drew early praise from Coach Zimmer and veteran defensive backs Harrison Smith and Patrick Peterson, who were impressed with how quickly he fitted in and got to grips with his s new team’s system. It was there for all to see as he hit the ground running in the opening two weeks of the season. The highlight being an interception of Kyler Murray, with a 27-yard gain to go with it. As most of the Vikings defense was struggling, Woods was ranked 5th best safety in the league by Pro Football Focus. An impressive start to life playing for the men in purple.
Top Safeties in NFL,
Per @pff,
Thru Almost Two Weeks of 2021:1. Derwin James, LAC (89.9)
2. Jevon Holland, MIA (85.2)
3. Kareem Jackson, DEN (84.0)
4. Mike Edwards, TB (83.6)
5. Xavier Woods, MIN (81.9)— Dustin Baker (@DustBaker) September 20, 2021
Slump during the Home Matches
After Week 2, there has been somewhat of a slump, particularly the home opener against Seattle. A missed tackle against the physical specimen that is DK Metcalf led to a 27-yard catch and run. He was busy making 10 tackles in the Browns game, nearly double what he made in the first three games — as the duo of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt ran all over the Vikings defense.
There has been some chunk play passes against him that have also brought down that PFF grade. After four games, it now stands at an overall grade of 69.4. With a run defense grade of an impressive 74.0, his coverage needs improvement. A grade of 64.4 is somewhat lower than you’d’ expect.
Looking for Continued Improvement
Having played every defensive snap this season, there will be ample time for the 26-year-old to improve where necessary, as I don’t expect that extremely high snap count to change unless he goes down with an injury. If the defensive unit around him gets better — and it certainly needs to — that should also help. A Week 5 matchup against the 0-4 Lions allows an opportunity for him to shine, as it does for the entire Minnesota defense as they come up against a Lions offensive line that is decimated by injuries.
With Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnoe placed on injured reserve this week, tackle Taylor Decker already resides. While this year’s seventh overall pick Peneii Sewell is dealing with an ankle injury that looks set to see him miss out too. This is a game where the Vikings simply must get pressure on Lions quarterback Jared Goff — making the game easier for the defensive backs.
Other than Cameron Dantzler, who has seen limited time on the field so far due to being on coach Zimmer’s naughty step, I would argue Xavier Woods has been our best defensive back this season. Admittedly, the competition hasn’t exactly been stiff, but Woods has been solid for the most part.