Dec 15, 2019; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders former cornerback Charles Woodson gestures on the field during the fourth quarter of the game between the Oakland Raiders and the Jacksonville Jaguars at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Raiders Legend Among Best Pro Athletes of 21st Century

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Jul 17, 2024 4:09 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders have produced not only some of the greatest football players to ever play the game, but some of the best athletes of all time as well.

One of those Raider legends was Hall-of-Fame cornerback Charles Woodson, one of the most versatile players to ever take the gridiron.

Woodson was recently ranked No. 100 on ESPN's "top 100 professional athletes since 2000."

Here's what ESPN had to say about the longtime Oakland Raider:

"Woodson's career was a three-act play. In Oakland, as a Heisman Trophy-winning No. 4 pick, he was a hard-partying, hard-playing Hall of Fame talent. In Green Bay, he became a Hall of Famer. And with his return to the Raiders, he became a legend, making the switch from wild youngster at cornerback to sage vet at free safety. And if he lost a step, it was one precious few others ever had."

The Raiders selected Woodson with the fourth overall pick of the 1998 NFL Draft, just months after he completed his Heisman campaign at the University of Michigan.

He would be named the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year, totaling 64 tackles, five interceptions, two forced fumbles and a touchdown while starting all 16 games his rookie season.

Woodson was named to the Pro Bowl that year and went on to be selected to three straight more, while also being named to the 1999 Associated Press All-Pro First Team.

After spending his first eight NFL seasons in Oakland, Woodson would leave for the Green Bay Packers, where he received Defensive Player of the Year honors for his 2009 campaign and won a Super Bowl in the 2010 season. That following year, he was named to his third-career All-Pro First Team. He led the league with seven interceptions that season.

Woodson returned to the Raiders in 2013. He spent his final three seasons back in Oakland and was selected to the last of his nine Pro Bowls in his final season, 2015-16.

Woodson would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

The Raiders legend was arguably the franchise's best player of this century when you account for the awards his time spent with the organization and his overall effect on the club.

This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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