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FOXBOROUGH — Ask Craig Woodson about fellow safety Kevin Byard, and he can tell you. “When he speaks, people listen,” Woodson said after Sunday’s walkthrough practice. “And that’s just something you don’t get with a lot of players.” The active leader in career interceptions (aside from Harrison Smith, who remains unsigned), the veteran free agent pickup brought the New England defensive backs together earlier this summer and gave them a simple directive: Find more takeaways. “After those first few practices, [Byard] brought us up, and he was like, ‘We need takeaways today,’” Pettus said. “Before we went to any competitive team activity, he said, ‘We need more takeaways; we’re going to go out here and go get the football. “‘Forget what everybody else is talking about; forget what the coaches talk about. This is our team. This is our defensive backfield. And it’s up to us to go get it, because the coaches can’t play for us.’” Call it the Byard Effect: In recent days, the takeaways have come in bunches for the New England defense. Whether it’s been in practices or in Thursday’s preseason opener, the group has been aggressive to the football. Shortly after Byard’s ask, the defense ended a practice against Drake Maye and the New England offense with three consecutive picks of the Patriots’ quarterbacks, including Byard picking off Maye. And two of the takeaways in Thursday’s preseason game came via defensive backs who picked Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard. “I don’t know if that’s a coincidence or something that [Byard] said and now it’s happening,” Woodson said. “But I mean, at the end of the day, that’s what we’ve got to do on defense: create takeaways. And we did that in the [preseason opener]. And the guys that played, man, they did a good job of doing that, and that helps us win games. So we’ve just got to keep going with that.” Cornerback Kindle Vildor had the first interception, collecting a tipped ball that was intended for Coleman Owen. Described as an “aggressive” corner by coach Mike Vrabel, the pick from Vildor was the latest positive development for a guy who is angling for one of the last cornerback spots on the roster. Jeremiah Pharms and K.J. Britt each forced first-half fumbles. The second interception of the night (and fourth takeaway) came at the start of the second half, when safety John Saunders was able to artfully high-point a ball from Leonard and come away with the pick. During the 2025 regular season, the Patriots were in the bottom half of the league when it came to interceptions with 10; only 10 teams had fewer. The Bears, led by Byard’s league-best seven picks, were best in the league with 23. New England had five picks in the playoffs — including a pair in the divisional playoff win over the Texans from cornerback Carlton Davis — but it still remained a defensive point of emphasis heading into 2026. Enter Byard. The arrival of the 5-foot-11-inch, 218-pounder has sparked a new attitude among the defensive backs in Foxborough. In his relatively short time in New England, the three-time All-Pro continues to make his presence felt, both on and off the field. His leadership has manifested itself in extra film work, additional reps for defensive backs before and after practice, and an understanding that turnovers are not about lucky bounces, but can be found by paying attention to the smallest details. “He has a voice that’s really empowering, when it comes to some of the things that he’s able to preach to us as a DB group and even to the coaches as well,” Woodson said. “It’s good to have that leadership in the room, and I think that’s just going to help us.” Byard’s philosophy is one that has allowed him to lead the league in picks twice, with 36 total interceptions over his 10-year career. “His presence here, he’s going to make his plays for sure,” Davis said. “But it’s going to be on us to follow his lead.” It’s made life a lot easier for Vrabel and the coaching staff. “I really always appreciate [having] guys like that, that you can trust, that may make a mistake, but they’re not going to make too many of them,” Vrabel said of Byard, who played for Vrabel in Tennessee. “They won’t make the same mistake twice. And he understands how critical the football is, making plays down the field and the risk-reward of some of those things. “It’s comforting, it’s calming. I’ve always talked about how Kevin never gets really too high or too low. And you see some of these guys, they’re exhausted after a first couple plays, and Kevin just saves his energy for when the ball is snapped, and I’ve always appreciated that about him.” Christopher Price can be reached at christopher.price@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at christopherprice.bsky.social.