Image 1: DT Peter Woods (11) tackling RB Tae Meadows (22)
Height: 6’3
Weight: 315
Position: DT
Year: Junior
Background
Image 2: DT Peter Woods (11) in his final season at Thompson High School
Born on March 5th, 2005, Peter Woods was a Four-Star DL prospect in the class of 2023 coming out of Thompson High School in Alabaster, Alabama. Ranked as the 6th player in the state of Alabama, Woods was heavily sought after as a recruit due to his physical tools and three Alabama 7A state championships. As the target of a heated recruiting battle between Alabama, Clemson, Florida, and Jackson State, Woods would ultimately commit to Clemson.
As a Tiger, Woods would be an immediate impact player as he would see playing time in all 12 games and would earn Freshman All-American honors. In his sophomore season, Woods played all over the defensive line with snaps registered from alignments ranging from 3-technique to stand-up edge rusher. Entering his junior season, Woods is only being aligned as a DT and the hopes of being the top non-QB in the 2026 draft class.
Athletic Tools
A true freak-of-nature athlete, Peter Woods has historic athleticism for the position. Due to his speed, agility, and explosiveness, Woods is a highly disruptive player whose impact is not fully shown in his counting stats. Woods not only moves very well, but he also displays impressive upper body strength when shedding blocks and holding his gap in the run game. Woods is a strong player, but he is not a consistent pocket pusher on tape. However, Woods has the strength and size to make this a bigger part of his pass rush plan.
Video 1: DT Peter Woods (11) using his speed and explosiveness when long sticking against a QB draw and getting a tackle-for-loss on QB LaNorris Sellers (16)
Video 2: DT Peter Woods (11) sheds the block of the LG and uses his quickness to get a tackle-for-loss on QB Anthony Colandrea (10) on a read option
Video 3: DT Peter Woods (11) uses his strength to hold his gap and forces QB Haynes King (10) to change direction on a read option
Despite having excellent athletic tools, Woods does have a major deficiency in his arm length. Not only does Woods’ lack of length affect his ability to finish plays, but it also affects his ability to utilize set-up and counter moves in his pass rush plan. Due to being a poor finisher, Wood has poor counting stats for a top prospect as he often misses tackles on opportunities to register sacks or tackles-for-loss.
Video 4: DT Peter Woods (11) penetrating as a crasher on a stunt and failing to sack QB LaNorris Sellers (16)
Video 5: DT Peter Woods (11) utilizing speed-to-power as a stand-up EDGE and failing to sack QB Hank Bachmeier (9)
Video 6: DT Peter Woods (11) disengages from the block of the RG and fails to make a tackle on RB Cade Durham (29)
Technicals
Due to his twitchy movement and powerful hands, Woods flashes high-level talent as a one-on-one pass rusher. However, Woods primarily is utilized as a weapon on stunts due to his ability as a crasher. By being a big, high-end athlete, Woods does a great job freeing up rush lanes for loopers and penetrating the backfield. Though great as a crasher, Woods would also be a very good looper due to his rare movement ability.
Video 7: DT Peter Woods (11) using a club-swim to get a pass rush win against LG Nico Rodriguez-Pena (63)
Video 8: DT Peter Woods (11) fusing a swipe-swim to get a pass rush win against LG Nico Rodriguez-Pena (63)
Video 9: DT Peter Woods (11) penetrates while crashing on a stunt and gets a sack on QB Nate Yarnell (19)
Video 10: DT Peter Woods (11) crashing to help create rush lanes for EDGE TJ Parker (3) and DB Kylon Griffin (18)
As expected of a shorter-armed DT, Woods has occasional issues with shedding blocks of lengthier offensive lineman. Woods may lack length, but he makes up for it by having violent, strong hands when defending the run. Woods is not an overall poor one-on-one run defender, but he does struggle properly anchoring down against combo blocks. Woods has the size and strength to be effective in these situations, but he needs to play lower in his pads and develop better technique (ex. utilizing a dead leg technique o).
Video 11: DT Peter Woods (11) failing to disengage the block of OG Harrison Moore (52) and is unable to make a play on the ball carrier
Video 12: DT Peter Woods (11) using his strong hands to easily shed the blocks of the RG and RB before whiffing the tackle on WR Zavion Thomas (0)
Video 13: DT Peter Woods (11) plays too high against the combo block and opens up a cutback lane for RB Malachi Hosley (0)
Draft Projection
Peter Woods currently has a first round grade, but he has the athleticism and size to be the best player in the class. Given his flashes of one-on-one pass rush ability and athleticism, Woods becoming more reliable against the run and stronger as a pocket pusher would make him one of the greatest DT prospect of all time.
Athletic Testing
Will be updated after the NFL Combine/Clemson Pro Day
Pro Comparison
Image 3: DT Milton Williams (97) celebrating with DT Christian Barmore (90)
A sawed off, freak-of-nature athlete, Milton Williams is one of the few DTs that has similar movement ability to Peter Woods. Though he was smaller than Woods as a college prospect, Williams has filled out his frame and has become one of the league’s premier pass rushers due to his active hands, athleticism, and power. Like Woods, Williams struggles as a run defender due to his shorter arms and difficulty dealing with combo blocks. Despite his run-defense deficiencies, Williams still plays on early downs and is a full-time starter for the Patriots.
Date Published: 9/20/2025
Date Last Updated: 9/20/2025