Las Vegas Raiders: 15 best defensive backs of all-time

• Pro Football Hall of Fame (Class of 1984)
• 3x Super Bowl Champion (XI, XV, XVIII)
• NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
• AFL All-Time Team
• 4x All-League w/Raiders (1968-69, 1971, 1973)
• 7x AFL All-Star/Pro Bowler w/Raiders (1967-73)

Willie Brown is without debate the first truly great defensive back to have ever played for the Raiders. Yes, there were other sound secondary players to suit up for the Silver and Black. However, Brown was the first former longtime Raider in the defensive backfield to earn Canton enshrinement.

Undrafted in 1963 out of Grambling State, Brown initially signed as a free agent with the then Houston Oilers. However, he never played for Houston, opting to sign with the Denver Broncos that fall. Brown spent his first four professional seasons in the Mile High City, where he made his first two AFL All-Star Games. He was All-AFL for the first time in 1964.

Though he was certainly a good player for the Broncos, Brown became a no-doubt hall of fame player as a member of the Raiders. Denver traded him to Oakland in 1967 and the rest is history. Brown rattled off seven-straight AFL All-Star Games/Pro Bowls from 1967 to 1973.

His first year with the Raiders coincided with the Raiders only AFL Championship. However, Oakland would later lose to the Green Bay Packers in what is now known as Super Bowl II. But that really didn’t matter for Brown, as he would prove to be a champion thrice over in Oakland, albeit in different capacities.

Though he was never a champion in his prime in Oakland, Brown set the tone for defensive excellence during the late 1960s and most of the 1970s in the Silver and Black. In his age-36 season in 1976, Brown would see his Raiders win Super Bowl XV over the Minnesota Vikings for the first time. He would retire from playing two years later after the 1978 season.

But Brown’s Raiders’ legacy was far from over. Yes, he was a seven-time All-Star/Pro Bowler in Raiders uniform, making all-league teams on four separate occasions. He might have made the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team or the AFL All-Time Team. However, Brown’s second life in football was still pretty impressive.

Immediately upon retirement, Brown would be the Raiders’ defensive backs coach for a decade. The Raiders won two Super Bowls with him on the coaching staff in 1980 and in 1983. Brown got to coach the likes of Lester Hayes, Mike Haynes, and Vann McElroy, all of whom made this list. He coached with the Raiders through the 1988 NFL season. Brown has been in an administrative role with the team since 2005.

In the least amount of time possible, Brown was a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee in 1984. He went into Canton alongside Mike McCormack, Charley Taylor, and Arnie Weinmeister. In 12 seasons with the Raiders, Brown amassed 39 interceptions for 277 yards and two touchdowns in 154 games with the Silver and Black. You don’t begin to talk legendary defensive backs without mentioning Brown, period.