Vikings

Xavier Woods' Potential Was On Display Against the Cowboys

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Becker (USA TODAY Sports)

With Harrison Smith setting the bar for high-level safety play for nearly a decade, the focus has always been who will be next in line on the starting roster. Xavier Woods has had an opportunity this season to learn from an experienced veteran and see how his play stacks up against one of the best defensive backs in the league. This inter-team competition gives Woods a standard to strive for and pushes Smith to keep playing at a high level.

Woods had mild success with the Dallas Cowboys, starting at free safety for three of his four seasons there. His play lapsed last year, though, and Dallas cut him after finishing the season with zero sacks, zero interceptions, and zero forced fumbles. He ended up signing with the Vikings in the offseason.

Woods showed up in Minnesota’s Week 8 matchup against his former team: four tackles, four assists, one sack, one interception, and a forced fumble.

His dominating stat line in a revenge game can only be described as poetic. The Vikings may have faltered in the end, but Woods made big plays when the team needed it most. A missed tackle here and a slight lapse in coverage there shouldn’t shroud the fact that Woods elevated his play for most of the game. This was the type of performance that showed his previous team what they were missing out on.

The Vikings use their safeties differently than most NFL teams. Typically, teams use safeties as the last line of defense against the opposing offense. However, Mike Zimmer uses safeties as multi-functional players who bounce between regular safety play, complex coverage schemes for the opposing QB to read, and a threat to jump the line and blitz in the most opportune times. This type of play seems to suit Woods very well. He is on pace to surpass a number of his career-high statistics, including interceptions, tackles, and forced fumbles. This is all on top of him already recording his first career sack eight games into the season.

Transitioning him from free safety with the Cowboys to strong safety with the Vikings has brought out the best in Woods. Giving him the ability to play closer to the line and be an immediate threat better fits his skill set, even if he is physically smaller than Smith.

Elevated play from Woods couldn’t be coming at a better time for himself and the team. The Vikings need to start winning games. Danielle Hunter’s pectoral injury is expected to keep him out for the rest of the season, so the defense will need to fill some gaps. Underwhelming cornerback play has been brewing in all parts of the defensive scheme. The absence of Patrick Peterson may have been the cause for Woods’ big stat line this past week. With the team needing Woods to compensate for a starting cornerback being out, they were seeking equilibrium. Woods adapted and exceeded the team’s expectations set for him. He should be looking to capitalize on his one-year prove-it deal, hoping to make an impact and settle down long term with a defense that carries high potential for the future.

The next few Vikings matchups present a good opportunity for him to continue growing. An aging and injured offensive line is plaguing the Baltimore Ravens. And Lamar Jackson has been criticized for his passing game. The Los Angeles Chargers are led by a young quarterback whose numbers are not close to his Rookie of the Year season last year. Then come the Green Bay Packers, who will give Woods a taste of a future Hall of Fame quarterback and the first genuine rivalry game he will experience as a member of the Vikings.

Woods needs to continue developing an intuition for making a big play when the team needs it most in these upcoming games. We saw it against Dallas when he came up with his clutch sack and forced fumble with the game was tied in the fourth quarter. These types of plays will help the team win and help Woods make a name for himself.

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Photo Credit: Jeffrey Becker (USA TODAY Sports)

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