By Ryan Kirton
Medill Reports
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — If you had told a Patriots fan who their starting safeties would be before the season began, they might’ve started preparing for next year’s draft.
But in a season full of pleasant surprises, Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson have been perhaps the most surprising of all. Up until 2025, Hawkins had been a journeyman, coming off a season where he allowed a passer rating of 132.5 when targeted. Woodson, meanwhile, was a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft.
An overhaul of the coaching staff brought changes to the Patriots’ defensive backfield. Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger were gone by October, paving the way for Hawkins and Woodson to lead the secondary.
“Whenever a new system comes in, everybody has a blank slate,” Patriots safeties coach Scott Booker said. “And I think that with those changes came some early bumps and bruises, and everybody trying to get on the same page. But each game, you saw improvement and guys taking coaching and not making the same mistake twice.”
Hawkins and Woodson have taken massive leaps in the 2025 season, with Hawkins allowing just a 71.2 passer rating when targeted, and Woodson allowing just a 36.4% completion percentage in the playoffs. This is in part because of Hawkins’ mentorship of Woodson, as the two have had a connection since 2019, when they shared the field at California. Now, the safety duo has elevated the Patriots to Super Bowl LX, just 45 miles from their alma mater.
“We’ve already got chemistry coming in,” Woodson said of Hawkins. “He’s helped me out a lot whenever it comes to how to be a pro. On the field it’s made a lot of things easier. We’re just playing free.”
Hawkins and Woodson first played together at California, when Hawkins was a fifth-year senior and Woodson was a freshman. Hawkins quickly became the leader of that unit, stepping in as a mentor to Woodson.
So when the Patriots took Woodson in the fourth round of the 2025 draft, it wasn’t hard to rebuild that connection.
“I was really familiar with him. He was really familiar with me. We had a good bond,” Hawkins said. “Now that we’re in the league, me being older, I can teach him all the logistics and things he doesn’t know about the league. Just be an open book for him and help him out.”
After a 1-2 start to the season, the secondary played a big part in the team’s turnaround. The defense ranked in the top 10 in passing yards allowed, while only giving up three plays of 40 yards or more, tied for second fewest in the NFL. They also improved upon their seven interceptions from 2024, which was fourth worst.
Patriots captain and cornerback Marcus Jones has seen firsthand how this team has gone from one of the worst in the NFL to AFC champions. One thing in particular jumped out at him about this secondary.
“I would say communication,” Jones said. “Being able to get problems solved. That’s what DBs do in general. And then going to the sideline, going over what we have to do.”
While Hawkins and Woodson already had plenty of time to communicate at California, it’s another thing to have this on the professional level. In a completely different system, the two have managed to translate their skills from Cal to New England.
“They’re able to do things, disguise and play off each other at a high rate,” Booker said. “And I think that would happen whether they went to Cal together or if one of them went to Boston College. So I think that they’re doing a really good job playing off each other right now.”
Woodson expressed gratitude for Hawkins’ leadership and how the team has supported him through his rookie season. Even though they now play in a different part of the country, Hawkins and Woodson will always have that Cal connection.
“We have good chemistry, we know how to communicate,” Woodson said. “That’s something we’re gonna keep doing.”
Ryan Kirton is a sports media specialization graduate student at Medill.