I truly believe Peter Woods was the most misused player in all of College Football in 2025. The Clemson defense tried to take an F-150 and put it on an F-1 track. The thought clearly was to put Woods in as many different positions to win as possible. Instead, it should have been to put him in the best position for him to win. Because of their mishandling of their best player, Wood’s productivity dropped and subsequently his draft stock followed.
Bio:
- Size: 6’2”, 298 pounds
- Position: Defensive Tackle
- Year/Age: Junior, 21 years old
- Measurements: 31 1/4” arms (15%), 9 1/8” hands (16%)
- Expected draft range: late first-round
Film Analysis
Games watched: SMU (2025), Syracuse (2025), Texas (2024),
Georgia Tech (2025), LSU (2025)
Pros:
- Extremely active hands. Knows to use them more than how to use them
- Sheds blockers with ease even with shorter arms
- Just turned 21; can be a multi-contract player if he hits
- Undeniable athleticism. Foot speed is NFL-quality
- Versatility to play across the entire defensive line – including stand up five technique defensive end
- Detonates zone schemes with penetration
- Can play both gaps when head up over guard or tackle (but not the center)
- Effort on screens and short area plays is evident
Cons:
- Stack and shed is still under-developed as he relies on his speed and dipping ability
- Easily moved when facing two techniques – cannot be trusted as a one technique
- Freelances too often
- Pad level gets high on clear pass rushing downs
- Hand swipes are cosmetic. Ineffective when not paired with footwork.
- Will long-arm offensive linemen to create separation, but doesn’t pair that with another move to get past them
- Feet can completely stall out against combo blocks – was put on skates multiple times against an average Syracuse offensive line
- Jump off the snap was a tick slow
- Requires too much upper-body torque to create separation from guards. Puts him out of the gap and in trouble too often. He win the rep but his shoulders are so far turned that he lost gap integrity
In a class full of grizzled veterans with five years of college football, Woods stands out as a newly minted 21-year old with three years of big-time college football play. The ceiling and floor could not be wider for this prospect. Nnamdi Madubuike is a great comp as a player who came in under-sized, but truly developed into a pass rush demon for Baltimore.
Clemson used Woods as a one-technique quite often – certainly more often than the 51 snaps PFF recorded. He was downright undersized and overmatched in that role.
Woods’ best fit is as a 3-4 defensive end. Line him up as a 3i or head up over the guard to maximize his skillset. Fortunately and unfortunately, that’s not the scheme the Texans run.
Fit in Houston
Peter Woods matches DeMeco Ryans’ proclivity for muscular, stout, and quick run defenders who can disrupt an offensive line’s scheme with their penetration. Woods is much closer to the Tommy Togiai and Sheldon Rankins ilk than Tim Settle Jr.
If Houston is able to streamline his run defense duties he can be an immense value… in the second round. No more loops, no more stunts, no more standing up over the center, no more one technique, no more defensive end play. Let the elite defensive tackle play defensive tackle. Clemson asked too much from him and tried to scheme him into position too often. In Houston, he will be asked to play the three technique – not the one technique – where double teams will be less often and he can win easier.
His size limitations preclude him from being a first-round pick. There’s too much tape that is Day Three to warrant a top 32 selection. If Woods is the face of the draft class, I fear the pressure will force him to start too early. I would prefer if Houston nabs him with their 38th overall pick in the second round… even if he has film that of a fourth-round pick at times.
Ultimately, I would rather Woods succeed with another team than possibly fail with Houston. Considering how close the Texans are to a major playoff run, they need to ‘hit’ these early draft picks instead of swing for the fences.
