The Los Angeles Chargers, like any NFL team, have had their fair share of draft busts over the past few seasons, including a number of unsuccessful gambles under former GM Tom Telesco.
It's a natural part of the drafting process. Sometimes you take a gamble, and you're quickly proved wrong. There couldn't be a more representative case of the Chargers' failings under the previous regime, though, than safety JT Woods.
Woods came into the league with strong numbers at the NFL Scouting Combine and a lot of buzz surrounding his pure athleticism, but he failed to truly put it together at the NFL level and become a reliable downfield defender. It was former head coach Brandon Staley's confidence in him that likely led to the pick, and it fell undeniably flat.
Now, almost three years after his last appearance in an NFL game, Woods has been invited to try out at the New Orleans Saints' rookie mini-camp this weekend, where Staley is currently employed as the defensive coordinator. It could be Woods' final shot at cracking an NFL roster.
JT Woods' best shot at sticking around in the NFL could come this weekend
From a perspective of sheer athleticism, there's an argument to be made that Woods was a worthy gamble in 2022 for Los Angeles. Here, for example, is what Lance Zierlein had to say in his scouting report for NFL.com:
"Long-levered safety with excellent top-end speed and the potential to become a rangy playmaker if he can learn to play with better overall discipline. Woods has too many busted assignments to be trusted in single-high alignments at this time, but offers teams the coverage versatility to be deployed in a variety of spots. If he can play with better decisiveness, he has the length, burst and striking power to impact catch tries and take the ball away..." Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
But Woods, frankly, never played well enough to truly be trusted with significant responsibilities. Across two seasons with the Chargers, he played in just 13 games, earning 91 defensive snaps in that span.
He showed signs of slight improvement during the 2023 preseason. But he missed much of that campaign when he was placed on the reserve list with an undisclosed illness, and he was later released by Los Angeles during the 2024 offseason.
He's since bounced around the practice squads of the Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks, Las Vegas Raiders, and the New York Jets. But time is quickly running out on his chances to crack an NFL roster, even as a special-teams piece.
Staley's tenure with the Chargers is now defined by his missteps on the defensive side of the ball, and selecting Woods was certainly one of those. But Staley, as the defensive mastermind in Los Angeles at the time, had to show some signs of confidence in Woods for the organization to use that third-round pick on him.
Staley and the Saints, therefore, could represent Woods' final shot at an NFL roster.
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