Panthers safety Xavier Woods says everyone knows what he needs to improve on in 2023
Xavier Woods has heard it from every corner. From Panthers fans on social media to coaches in meeting rooms to his wife at home.
There’s an aspect of his game that really needs to improve from last year.
“Catching footballs,” Woods said with a smile last week.
Woods, a seventh-year safety, arrived in Carolina last season and was immediately praised for his communication skills. He was also pretty good at reading the offense and making plays in coverage. But when the ball came his way, Woods — on multiple occasions — failed to haul in an interception for a much-needed turnover.
So, after being critiqued for his multiple dropped interceptions last season, Woods — who has eight career picks on his resume — has put in the work this offseason to improve his ability to catch the football.
The 2017 sixth–round pick, who previously played for the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings, spends every day catching footballs. He works with the JUGS machine after practice daily, and he has a specific catch goal in mind during the sessions.
Woods, 28, refuses to reveal his daily catch total goal, holding that number tight to his jersey like he’s playing poker in a high stakes Vegas tournament. But the defensive back said the work involved has been extensive in order to rebound from a interception-less 2022 campaign.
Still, Woods says he doesn’t have a goal for his interception numbers in 2023, as he doesn’t want to limit himself under a new coaching staff led by head coach Frank Reich and defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.
“Never a goal,” Woods said. “I just wanna catch everything that comes to me.”
Woods is a fan of Evero’s new defensive scheme. The safety likes playing in the scheme’s shell coverage because it allows the defenders to play intertwined on the field.
He believes that style of play will lead to more interception opportunities.
“As long as we’re playing within this scheme, it’s gonna get us there,” Woods said. “It’s about finishing the play, which I wasn’t able to do last year, which was catching the football. So that’s something that I worked extremely, extremely hard on.”
Entering his second season with the Panthers, Woods has built relationships with the defensive backs around him. He has served as a leader in the Carolina secondary and guided the likes of Jaycee Horn, CJ Henderson and Donte Jackson on Sundays. That experience together has given the group a leg up entering their second summer together in Spartanburg, S.C.
“Just knowing how to communicate with each individual — whether it’s Jaycee, whether it’s (Jackson), whether it’s CJ — just knowing how to communicate with them in game and out of game,” Woods said. “Just knowing how to play with each other, how we’re gelling with each other, and that comes along with bonding as well.”
Woods has also bonded with free-agent addition and fellow safety Vonn Bell. The two players are known for their leadership skills, and they have quickly built a relationship on and off the field.
“I think we’ve clicked since Day One, to be honest,” Woods said. “Our playing styles are definitely similar. Sometimes, the coaches don’t know the difference between us back there. Whether we’re dressing the same, our movements are the same. But I’d say since Day One, we’ve clicked. We communicate well with each other, and it’s been definitely a pleasure just to have him here and be with me. Be a teammate with me, be a brother.”
Evero, the new defensive play-caller, has been pleased with the safety duo’s chemistry in camp. Their respective communication skills have been paramount in creating a new system in the secondary and throughout the defense.
“It’s essential,” Evero said. “There’s so much going on. All of these offenses that we’re playing, they’re not just lining up in stagnant formations. It’s shifts, it’s motions, it’s jet motions. Things are happening really fast, and guys not only have to communicate very fast and clearly, but they have to be able to think fast on their feet. So, feel really good about where Vonn is, where X is. They’re doing a heckuva job, and not just with their assignments, but really driving the bus and getting everyone else lined up.”
Horn, who is entering his third season as the Panthers’ top cornerback, believes the pairing of Bell and Woods has been educational for the secondary. With Horn, Henderson and others still only in their early-to-mid-20s, the experience and wisdom of Woods and Bell have been major resources for the young defense.
Bell and Woods “paired together is like two professors,” Horn said. “We call (Woods) Professor X. And now that Vonn’s here, he’s at another level with it, too. So for me, it’s extremely big having two guys that you can trust behind you at safety.”
Woods is a fan of his “Professor X” nickname and its relation to a popular Marvel comic book. But the safety wasn’t always a big X-Men fan.
“I’m definitely an X-Men guy,” Woods said. “But growing up, I was really a Power Rangers guy.”
Woods’ superhero aspirations or influences probably don’t matter to the Panthers. But his ability to catch the football will.
If he can just master or at least improve his ability to collect interceptions, Woods will probably stop being heckled by his critics. And that includes, he says with a laugh, “outside the building, inside the building, in my house with my wife — everybody.”
This story was originally published August 8, 2023 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Panthers safety Xavier Woods says everyone knows what he needs to improve on in 2023."
