Welcome JT Woods, DB, Baylor (R3, #79)

[Cdn Bolt]

Maybe S was a need area even though it seems we draft 1 every year. I would have thought RT was a bigger need area give we have had disastrous play there for a few years. ILB as well given Kenneth Murray has been inconsistent and hurt a lot.

I am near BUF so hear a lot of their trade discussions . They basically loaded up in FA and added a luxury RB ( James Cook, Dalvin Cook's brother) pick in rnd 2 to an already loaded O who may even start. It seems they are loading up for the SB while we still have needs to plug.

[Xenos]

[SuperCharged]

The reactions from the armchair GM's is comedy gold.

I think Staley has a little bit better vision for his defense than you brainiacs. :stirringshit:

[Xenos]

The Athletics grade for our pick. Not bad actually:

79. Los Angeles Chargers: JT Woods, S, Baylor


Woods (6-foot-2, 195) started 28 games at Baylor. He had eight passes defended and six interceptions last season.

Woods ran 4.36 and is a plus athlete. He needs to improve as a tackler but has speed, range and ball skills. I have no problem taking a flier on a prospect with those traits at this point in the draft.

Grade: B

[powderblueboy]

The reactions from the armchair GM's is comedy gold.

I think Staley has a little bit better vision for his defense than you brainiacs. :stirringshit:

We'll see.

If a doctor botches another surgery, one can say that his knowledge of human anatomy far exceeds yours:
so what?

[Xenos]

Popper’s quick breakdown:

https://theathletic.com/3283555/2022/04/30/jt-woods-draft-los-angeles-chargers/

After a long delay, the Chargers were back on the clock Friday night at pick 79and selected Baylor safety JT Woods.

Woods brings size, speed and ball production to the Chargers’ defensive backfield. A track sprinter in high school, Woods stands over 6-foot-2, ran a 4.36 40-yard dash at the combine and led the nation in interceptions last season with six. He had nine interceptions and 14 passes defended in 23 games over his final two seasons for Baylor.


Big board ranking: Woods was the 128th ranked player on Dane Brugler’s Big Board. He had a fourth- to fifth-round grade. There were some intriguing options available at positions of need, including Miami (Ohio) edge rusher Dominique Robinson, Western Kentucky edge rusher DeAngelo Malone, UTSA CB Tariq Woolen, Houston CB Marcus Jones, Oklahoma DL Perrion Winfrey, Georgia LB Nakobe Dean and Texas A&M DL DeMarvin Neal. But they instead opted to add depth at safety.

Introduction: Woods hails from San Antonio and was both a football player (wide receiver, safety) and sprinter (100-meter, 200-meter and 110-meter hurdles) in high school. Woods continued his track career at Baylor, winning the 110-meter hurdle at the Baylor Invitational and placing third in the 100-meter at the USC Invitational. He has outstanding speed. Baylor was the only Power 5 school to offer him a football scholarship coming out of high school. He earned the nickname “The Heartbreak Kid” — or HBK for short — during a fall football camp at Baylor in 2019 because of his propensity for breaking QBs’ hearts with picks. That translated into game action in 2020 and 2021 with his nine interceptions.

How he fits: The Chargers had 11 interceptions as a team in Brandon Staley’s first season as head coach. Only seven teams across the league had fewer. They need players who can take the ball away, and this pick feels geared toward accomplishing that goal. Brugler wrote in his draft guide that Woods has “excellent hand-eye coordination to pluck the ball mid-air” and “loves to bait throws and set traps.” And he is a weapon to take any interception to the house with his speed and vision. He averaged 22.3 yards per interception return in his college career. Woods had a 20-yard interception return TD and 97-yard fumble return TD in 2021.

Second guess? Safety was not high on my list of needs for the Chargers, and they had the option of targeting a player who would have filled a more glaring roster hole, namely corner or edge rusher.

Rookie impact: Woods does have some versatility. He said he played mostly in the deep part of the field as a free safety in Dave Aranda’s defense at Baylor. But he also matched up one-on-one with tight ends, played in the box and covered the slot. With his length, speed and ball skills, Woods does have traits that could translate to outside corner, and Brugler mentioned that position switch as an option in his scouting report on Woods.

Depth-chart impact: Derwin James and Nasir Adderley form the Chargers’ starting safety duo, so Woods will be battling for playing time with backup safeties Mark Webb and Alohi Gilman. Woods has more range to play in the deep part of the field. Gilman and Webb are better served lining up closer to the line of scrimmage. That part of Woods’ skill set gives the Chargers some deep-field depth behind James and Adderley. And that depth was exposed last season when Adderley and James missed time. Trey Marshall struggled when called into action. It’s worth mentioning that Adderley is entering the final season of his rookie deal and was drafted under the prior coaching regime.

Fast evaluation: Woods is a ballhawk with the production to back it up. We will see exactly where he fits into the defense. But he has a very appealing blend of size and speed that should give the Chargers depth and flexibility in nickel and dime packages. And Woods has the athletic traits and willing physicality to contribute as a special-teamer, most likely as a gunner on punt team.

[Bolt-O]

The reactions from the armchair GM's is comedy gold.

I think Staley has a little bit better vision for his defense than you brainiacs. :stirringshit:

Most definitely. If we knew what he had in mind, so do the opponents. I suspect they have a lot more info on Woods that a draft guide or you-tube video.... or maybe not.

[Cdn Bolt]

I hope this pick works out. Staley had input into the S's they had last year too though but hope it works this time. I don't get what they do 1/2 the time but I'll drink the kool aid again.

[Steve]

JT Woods has been used in the ways that a split secondary uses the S's.

He is pretty good at lining up deep (really deep sometimes) and then coming up fast to fill, break on a receiver or play the ball. He has great reactions to the ball in the air, which is why he got so many ints. He can get beat when he guesses, he will bite on double moves and then has to react and recover, which because of his speed, he can kinda sorta do. Robber type of S than true deep S or SS type.

He is a willing tackler, but not super proficient. He is more like a CB in that he is a grab tackler or throws a shoulder into a guy, instead of wrapping up. He can really run, but doesn't play quite as fast as his 40 time would suggest.

JT Woods is a guy who is easy to project into a split secondary. He is good at reading and reacting as the play develops. High football IQ and is good at taking away crossing routes or breaking on short stuff from a deep alignment. He can run across the formation and beat the throw on a dig route. And he can do the deep S thing.

I think he might be a candidate to move to CB and play press coverage. I think that is something that he can do, but he wasn't used that way in college (at least not in the games I saw).

I think he is a good choice for our D. He could get a LOT of playing time filling in at S, so Derwin can get moved around close to the line or as an outside CB.

[powderblueboy]

We thought the Chargers top two needs were RT and corner depth.
Top two picks seemed to address that, but not really.

Staley, instead wanted physicality and a dime db who could play deep.
He doesn't look at things like us.

[Topcat]

Fast evaluation: Woods is a ballhawk with the production to back it up. We will see exactly where he fits into the defense. But he has a very appealing blend of size and speed that should give the Chargers depth and flexibility in nickel and dime packages. And Woods has the athletic traits and willing physicality to contribute as a special-teamer, most likely as a gunner on punt team.

Ballhawk...another need area for the Bolts...Liking this pick a lot...

[blueman]

We thought the Chargers top two needs were RT and corner depth.
Top two picks seemed to address that, but not really.

Staley, instead wanted physicality and a dime db who could play deep.
He doesn't look at things like us.

Why he’s a HC, and we’re not.