FOXBOROUGH — New England Patriots rookie Craig Woodson’s ‘welcome to the NFL’ moment came early in his career. And luckily, it occurred during practice rather than a game.
After Tuesday’s padded training camp practice, Woodson spoke with reporters about a particular play that involved four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
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“Stefon got over me. I gotta have better leverage on that,” Woodson said. “Plays like that let me know I’m here, this is the NFL, everybody’s good. So I’ve just got to be on my ‘A’ game.”
And the quarterbacks are also giving him a wake-up call.
“One thing I’ve learned is that these quarterbacks, they are good,” Woodson said of his first NFL training camp. “They can make those throws from sideline to sideline, so I have to have that range.”
Woodson was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL draft out of the University of California. For his final three years with the Golden Bears, Woodson had a starting role. Specifically in 2024, he recorded 45 solo tackles, two interceptions, and nine pass breakups across 13 games.
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And he credits his time at Cal for helping prepare him for the NFL.
“Cal really prepared me for this moment. We did a lot of coverage and different things,” Woodson explained. “So I think just having that comfortability from college and then coming here just helps.”
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Patriots’ Stefon Diggs gave one rookie his welcome to the NFL moment