Josh Woods isn’t out of the “box” yet, but after seeing the most extensive defensive action of his career over the past two weeks, the unheralded Detroit Lions linebacker is trending that way.
Woods made his first career start on defense in last week’s 38-10 loss to the Denver Broncos and made 13 tackles, most of any Lions player in a game this season. He played both linebacker spots and he wore the green-dot helmet to relay defensive play calls after Alex Anzalone left with an ankle injury.
A special teams standout most of his career, Woods said last week he was appreciative of finally getting a look on the defensive side of the ball.
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Before the Lions’ Week 13 win over the Minnesota Vikings, when he played 43 defensive snaps in place of the injured Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Woods had played 50 defensive snaps in his career. Last week, he was on the field for 64 of a possible 68 defensive plays against the Broncos.
“Guys kind of get into that box (of being seen as special teams-only players),” Woods said. “It’s a blessing when you are able to kind of break out of that box, but I won’t go ahead and get ahead of myself and act like I’m out of it. I still have so much to prove at linebacker to myself and there’s a lot of things I want to do on special teams still. The bar is just getting reset every day higher and higher just trying to get better.”
Signed off the Chicago Bears’ practice squad when the Lions decided to move on from Jamie Collins in September, Woods has been an instant hit in Detroit.
He has emerged as one of the Lions’ best special teams players, making seven special teams tackles, third-most on the team. He has filled the four-phase role in the kicking game left open by Reeves-Maybin’s promotion to defense.
And on defense, Lions linebackers coach Mark DeLeone said, he has seen tremendous growth from Woods as a player.
“I’m excited about him,” said DeLeone, Woods’ position coach with the Bears in 2019-20. “I think his future is bright. He already, I think we know what he is as a special teams player. He’s very good there. I think a lot of that carries over. But with Josh, he’s a guy who eats, sleeps and breathes football, man. He loves it. He’s engulfed in the game, and I was really, really happy for him that he had some success.”
Woods played safety in college at Maryland and transitioned to linebacker in 2018 while trying to catch on with the Bears as an undrafted free agent.
“I came out of Maryland probably like 208 (pounds),” he said. “Got to Chicago as a tryout safety at like 215. They were like, ‘Well, you’re a big safety, we’re kind of full. If you want play for the Bears, come back for vet minicamp and gain some weight.’ I came back like 235 and they signed me at linebacker. That was the end of safety.”
Woods said he gained 20 pounds that spring by eating steak and potatoes every day for five weeks.
He also put into practice something Maryland inside linebackers coach Brawley Evans impressed upon him during his final college season: Have fun and enjoy the game.
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“I was just so uptight,” Woods said. “I was just scared of making a mistake, or I had kind of lost my confidence and he told me, he was just like, ‘Hey, just go ball. Just go ball.’ Like, ‘You were a kid.’ And when that revelation hit I was like, ‘Wow, this is still the same exact game. I’m making it bigger than what it is.’ Started balling, so that stuck (with) me.”
Still raw as a linebacker, Woods has played well enough the past two weeks that he could remain in the defensive rotation going forward.
Anzalone missed practice Wednesday with his ankle injury, and while Reeves-Maybin was back after a two-game absence, he practiced in a red no-contact jersey, leaving his status for this week’s game against the Arizona Cardinals in question.
DeLeone said he’s “proud” Woods has “taken advantage of his opportunity.”
But to completely break out of that box, Woods said there still is more to be done.
“You want to play as much as you can,” he said. “(Playing) 15 plays (on special teams) every Sunday, it’s great and you can really contribute to winning football and special teams is just as important as offense and defense. But you practice linebacker every day. You definitely want to go out there, you dream of a bigger role everywhere you go, no matter where you are on the field. You kind of want to just keep getting better, keep getting more. So that’s where I am.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.