Pre-draft He was one of 60 defensive backs invited to the
NFL Scouting Combine in
Indianapolis, Indiana. He performed all of the combine positional drills, finishing seventh among safeties in the
40-yard dash. On March 23, 2017, he participated at Louisiana Tech's
pro day, along with
Carlos Henderson,
Trent Taylor, and 12 other prospects. Woods beat his times at the combine in the 40-yard dash (4.51), 20-yard dash (2.59), and 10-yard dash (1.58) while also performing positional drills for scouts and team representatives from all 32 NFL teams. He had two pre-draft visits that included the Dallas Cowboys and
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, NFL draft analysts projected him to be selected anywhere from the fourth to sixth rounds. He was ranked as the seventh best strong safety in the draft by DraftScout.com.
Dallas Cowboys The
Dallas Cowboys selected Woods in the sixth round (191st overall) of the
2017 NFL draft. The Dallas Cowboys traded a
2018 fifth round pick (157th overall) to the
New York Jets in order to acquire the 2017 sixth round pick (191st overall) in return used to draft Woods. He was the 19th safety drafted in 2017.
2017 On May 11, 2017, the Dallas Cowboys signed Woods to a four–year,
$2.55 million
rookie contract that includes an initial
signing bonus of $159,888. Throughout
training camp, Woods competed for a roster spot as a backup safety against
Robert Blanton,
Kavon Frazier, and
Jameill Showers. Head coach
Jason Garrett named him the backup free safety to
Byron Jones to begin the regular season. in 2017 On September 10, 2017, Woods made his professional regular season debut during the Dallas Cowboys' home-opener against the
New York Giants, but saw limited snaps on special teams as they won 19–3. In Week 3, Woods earned his first snaps on defense and made three solo tackles and a pass deflection during a 28–17 victory at the
Arizona Cardinals. He recorded his first career tackle on the opening kickoff on Cardinals' running back
Kerwynn Williams after a 21-yard kick return. On November 12, 2017, Woods made four combined tackles (two solo), a pass deflection, and had his first career interception off a pass thrown by
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to wide receiver
Mohamed Sanu during a 27–7 loss at the
Atlanta Falcons. The following week, Woods earned his first career start at strong safety to replace
Jeff Heath who was inactive due to a concussion he sustained the previous week and he recorded a season-high five combined tackles (four solo) during a 37–9 loss to the
Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11. In Week 13, Woods earned the starting strong safety job and recorded three combined tackles (one solo) during a 38–14 win against the
Washington Redskins. He finished his rookie season during the
2017 NFL season with a total of 42 combined tackles (33 solo), three pass deflections, a fumble recovery, and one interception in 16 games and four starts. Due to injuries to multiple teammates throughout the season, Woods was tasked with playing both safety and nickelback or slot cornerback. He received an overall grade of 78.8 from Pro Football Focus in 2017.
2018 Throughout
organized team activities, he competed against Kavon Frazier, Jeff Heath,
Marqueston Huff, and
Jameill Showers to earn a job as a starting safety after defensive coordinator
Rod Marinelli chose to transition
Byron Jones from safety to
cornerback and Woods was named the regular starter at
free safety. Head coach Jason Garrett named Woods the starting free safety to begin the season and paired him with strong safety Jeff Heath. On August 18, 2018, Woods exited in the third quarter of a 13–21 loss to the
Cincinnati Bengals due to an injured hamstring. He remained inactive for the first two games (Weeks 1–2) of the season due to his hamstring injury. On October 7, 2018, he produced five combined tackles (four solo), broke up a pass, and intercepted a pass by
Deshaun Watson to wide receiver
DeAndre Hopkins with less than 20 seconds in the fourth quarter to send the 16–16 game into overtime at the
Houston Texans. The Cowboys would go on to lose the Week 5 matchup at the Texans 19–16. In Week 11, he collected a season-high nine combined tackles (seven solo) during a 22–19 win at the
Atlanta Falcons. On November 22, 2018, Woods made five combined tackles (four solo), tied his season-high of three pass deflections, and helped secure a 31–23 win on
Thursday Night Football against the
Washington Redskins on
Thanksgiving with a late fourth quarter interception on a pass thrown by
Colt McCoy and was intended for wide receiver
Maurice Harris. He finished the season with a total of 56 combined tackles (39 solo), nine passes defensed, two interceptions, and one forced fumble in 14 games and 14 starts. Pro Football Focus had Woods finish 2018 with an overall grade of 68.0. The Dallas Cowboys finished the
2018 NFL season with a 10–6 record to win the
NFC East and clinch a playoff berth. On January 5, 2019, Woods started in the first playoff game of his career and made two solo tackles as the Cowboys defeated the
Seattle Seahawks 24–22 in the NFC Wild-card Game. On September 8, 2019, Woods collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (nine solo) during a 35–17 win against the
New York Giants in the Dallas Cowboys' home-opener in Week 1. The following week, he recorded six combined tackles (four solo) as the Cowboys won 31–21 at the
Washington Redskins, but suffered a high ankle sprain. He was subsequently inactive during a 31–6 victory against the
Miami Dolphins in Week 3 due to his ankle injury. On October 20, 2019, he had one solo tackle, one pass deflection, and made an interception off a pass attempt by
Carson Wentz to wide receiver
Alshon Jeffery as the Cowboys defeated the
Philadelphia Eagles 37–10. The following week, Woods made four combined tackles (three solo), a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by
Daniel Jones to wide receiver
Darius Slayton during a 37–18 win at the
New York Giants in Week 9. His Week 9 performance earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. He finished the season with 77 combined tackles (52 solo), five pass deflections, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and one tackle in 14 games and 14 starts. He received an overall grade of 73.0 from
Pro Football Focus in 2019.
2020 On January 7, 2020, the Dallas Cowboys' owner
Jerry Jones announced the hiring of former
Green Bay Packers' head coach
Mike McCarthy to the same position following the departure of head coach
Jason Garrett and the decision not to re-new his contract. During training camp, he competed to be a starting safety against
Darian Thompson,
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and
Donovan Wilson under defensive coordinator
Mike Nolan. Head coach Mike McCarthy named Woods and Darian Thompson the starting safeties to begin the season. On November 26, 2020, Woods collected a season-high ten combined tackles (six solo) and made one pass deflection as the Cowboys lost 16–41 to the
Washington Football Team. He was inactive during a 37–17 victory against the
Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16 due to a rib injury. He finished the
2020 NFL season with a total of 72 combined tackles (48 solo) and one pass deflection in 15 games and 15 starts. He received an overall grade of 61.9 from
Pro Football Focus in 2020. Head coach
Mike Zimmer named him the starting free safety to begin the season and was paired with strong safety
Harrison Smith. On September 19, 2021, Woods recorded four combined tackles (three solo), made one pass deflection, and had his first interception as a member of the Vikings off a pass thrown by
Kyler Murray to wide receiver
Christian Kirk during a 33–34 loss at the
Arizona Cardinals. In Week 4, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (four solo) as the Vikings lost 7–14 against the
Cleveland Browns. On October 31, 2021, Woods made eight combined tackles (four solo), a pass deflection, one interception, and had his first career sack during the 16–22 loss against the
Dallas Cowboys. He had his first career sack for a three-yard loss on former teammate
Cooper Rush and also forced a fumble by Rush that was recovered by linebacker
Anthony Barr for a turnover during the fourth quarter. In Week 16, he produced eight combined tackles (five solo), broke up a pass, and tied his career-high with his third interception of the season on a pass by
Matthew Stafford to wide receiver
Van Jefferson as the Vikings lost 30–23 to the
Los Angeles Rams. He started all 17 games during the
2021 NFL season for the first time in his career and finished with a total of career-high 108 combined tackles (72 solo), a career-high ten pass deflections, three interceptions, one sack, and a forced fumble.
Pro Football Focus had Woods earn an overall grade of 66.4 in 2021.
Carolina Panthers 2022 On March 16, 2022, the
Carolina Panthers signed Woods to a three–year, $15.00 million contract that includes $6.03 million guaranteed upon signing and an initial
signing bonus of $5.00 million. In Week 2, Woods collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (six solo) during a 16–19 loss at the
New York Giants. He was inactive for the Panthers' 15–37 loss against the
San Francisco 49ers in Week 5 due to an injured hamstring. On October 10, 2022, the Panthers announced their decision to fire head coach Matt Rhule after falling to a 1–4 record and appointed secondary coach
Steve Wilks to interim head coach for the remainder of the season. He was also sidelined for a 30–24 victory at the
Seattle Seahawks in Week 14 after sustaining an injury to his knee. On December 24, 2022, Woods made three solo tackles and set a season-high with two pass deflections as the Panthers defeated the
Detroit Lions 37–23. He finished the
2022 NFL season with a total of 86 combined tackles (53 solo), six pass deflections, and two fumble recoveries in 15 games and 15 starts. He received an overall grade of 63.5 from
Pro Football Focus in 2022, which ranked 58th out of 89 qualifying safeties.
2023 He entered training camp slated as the starting strong safety under new defensive coordinator
Ejiro Evero. Head coach
Frank Reich named Woods the starting strong safety to begin the season and paired him with
Vonn Bell. In Week 2, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles (four solo) and set a season-high with two pass deflections during a 17–20 loss against the
New Orleans Saints. He was inactive for three consecutive games (Weeks 4–6) due to a hamstring injury. He received an overall grade of 80.3 from Pro Football Focus, setting a career-high while also ranking 12th amongst 90 qualifying safeties.
2024 He entered training camp as the
de facto starting strong safety under defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Head coach
Dave Canales named Woods the starting strong safety to begin the season and paired him with
Jordan Fuller. On September 29, 2024, Woods made ten combined tackles (seven solo), a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by
Joe Burrow to wide receiver
Ja'Marr Chase during a 24–34 loss against the
Cincinnati Bengals. In Week 13, he recorded seven combined tackles (five solo), broke up a pass, and tied his career-high with his third interception of the season on a pass thrown by
Baker Mayfield to wide receiver
Jalen McMillan as the Panthers lost 23–26 in overtime against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He started all 17 games during the
2024 NFL season and had a career-high 119 combined tackles (72 solo), six pass deflections, and a career-high tying three interceptions. He received an overall grade of 57.0 from
Pro Football Focus, which ranked 125th among 170 qualifying safeties.
Tennessee Titans 2025 On March 14, 2025, the
Tennessee Titans signed Woods to a two–year, $8.00 million contract that includes $3.49 million guaranteed and an initial
signing bonus of $2.00 million. He played in 11 games with 10 starts, recording 39 tackles, one sack, three pass deflections, and two interceptions. On December 16, Woods was placed on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury suffered in Week 15 against the
San Francisco 49ers. On February 25, 2026, Woods was released by the Titans. ==NFL career statistics==