A veteran of 10 NFL seasons and three different organizations, Kevin Byard is one of the most experienced safeties in the league. He will try to put this experience to use with his new team, the New England Patriots, and serve as a mentor for a teammate he considers an ascending player: Craig Woodson.
A fourth-round draft pick by the Patriots last spring, Woodson will now get the opportunity to work alongside and learn from the three-time All-Pro selection. Byard is very much looking forward to that,
and to the future that lies ahead for the 25-year-old.
“The guy was just a rookie last year,” Byard told reporters at Gillette Stadium last week.
“But to be a rookie and basically play and start every single game, that’s going to be big for his growth. I definitely see him as an ascending player. I think he can be a really good player as long as he’s healthy and keeps doing what he’s doing.”
Despite joining a depth chart headed by a pair of established veterans in Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers, Woodson was able to not just crack the rotation but earn a starting role in training camp. He ended up appearing in all 21 of the Patriots’ regular season and playoff games and was on the field for a combined 93.7% of defensive snaps — the highest such mark on the team.
Now entering his second season as a pro, there are no questions about Woodson’s status. Dugger and Pepper are long gone, getting traded and released, respectively, last fall, while fellow 2025 starter Jaylinn Hawkins signed a free agency contract with the Ravens.
Byard was brought in to effectively take over Hawkins’ former role in the starting lineup. However, the 32-year-old knows that he is asked to extend his impact beyond the field.
“It’s all about serving the next guy, serving this team, doing what I can,” he explained about his leadership expectation. “I don’t just purposely try to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to be your leader or anything like that.’ It’s just more like a natural thing. If he has questions, I’m going to answer any questions. I’m going be there for him. We’re going to watch film together — I’m a big guy trying to get the team together, the group together to watch film and stuff like that. So, we’ll get into all that once we start playing ball.
“When I was a young player, I was like a sponge. I wanted to learn from every guy, coach, player. I wanted to know when the top guys on the team were getting into the facility in the morning. What was your routine? What was you out-of-the-building routine? When were you getting massages and stuff like that? I’m going try to be that type of guy for this team.”
