Getty Former Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Al Woods warming up ahead of an NFL game.
The New York Jets are hellbent on adding a big man to the defensive side of the ball.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport shared on Twitter that veteran defensive lineman Al Woods is set to visit Gang Green this week.
He will also make a visit in Cleveland with the Browns this week, per Rapoport.
Al Woods Isn’t Sexy, but He’s Exactly What Jets Need
The name Al Woods likely won’t appear in many headlines in the world of sports.
He has been in the league since 2010 when he was the No. 123 overall pick in the fourth round. Over that 12-year span, he has played for seven different teams. That includes three separate stints with the Seahawks.
Despite that career longevity, the big man hasn’t won any awards like Pro Bowl nominations or All-Pro nods.
He is just a 6-foot-3, 330-pound big man that just gets the job done. Woods has appeared in over 155 games and has started in 78 of those contests.
He has nine sacks, over 293 total tackles, 28 tackles for loss, and has registered 20 quarterback hits.
Woods had a brief crossover with Jets head coach Robert Saleh when he worked for Seattle back in 2011. The veteran big man spent just over two months with the Seahawks during that campaign.
An Under-the-Radar Fit for What the Jets Need
Woods isn’t as sexy as some of the other options the Jets kicked the tires on earlier this offseason.
Players like Fletcher Cox of the Philadelphia Eagles and Calais Campbell now of the Atlanta Falcons would have created more buzz. For one reason or another, both players declined the Jets’ advances.
Now the green and white are investigating completely different waters in free agency.
Woods may not be known nationally, but he is someone that can be plug-and-play into the Jets’ heavy defensive line rotation.
Rapoport called the big man “one of the most durable and valuable” defensive tackles for the last several years.
What Woods brings to the table is an incredibly high floor, according to the latest Pro Football Focus grades from 2022:
- 68.2 overall
- 65.2 run defense
- 67.5 pass rush
According to the official Jets roster, the moment Woods signs he would become the heaviest defender on the roster (330 pounds). The next closest is Quinnen Williams who is listed at 303.
When you have a player of that size anchoring the middle of the defense opposing offenses have to make some business decisions. Do we try and run through that? How do we avoid that guy?
When those thoughts are running through their heads, Gang Green can creatively attack those offenses in new ways.
Woods would be a wonderful veteran addition to this defensive line on the cheap. The former LSU product just turned 36 years of age this offseason.
Gang Green needs interior defensive line help and veteran leadership. Woods would check off both of those boxes.
Seattle decided to cut ties with the big man on Monday, March 20. He was in the midst of a two-year contract for $9 million at the time of his release.