The Raiders have a storied history that has seen the franchise send plenty of players to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, the past 23 seasons have not been so kind to the organization, as they have made just two postseason appearances and failed to win a single playoff game.
Charles Woodson is the most recent Hall of Famer to wear the Silver and Black. In fact, he remains the only player who spent the majority of their career with the franchise and made most of their contributions in the 21st century to earn football's highest honor.
The legendary defensive back spent the first eight years of his career in Oakland, serving as a shutdown cornerback, before returning as a safety in his final three years. Champ Bailey and Richard Sherman, two of the top defensive backs in football history, had high praise for the Raiders legend.
Raiders legend Charles Woodson receives well-deserved praise from his peers
Woodson was known to fill up the stat sheet during his time in the NFL. Despite passes defended and tackles for loss not being counted until his second season -- and quarterback hits not being counted until his ninth year -- he retired with incredible stats.
1,220 total tackles, 997 solo tackles, 54 tackles for loss, 20.0 sacks, 21 quarterback hits, 65 interceptions, 34 forced fumbles, 18 fumble recoveries, 183 passes defended, and 13 defensive touchdowns, which is tied for the most in NFL history, are on his résumé.
In fact, he is the only player to ever record at least 50 interceptions and 20 sacks. During a recent appearance on The Richard Sherman Podcast, Bailey, who was also a first-ballot Hall of Famer, had high praise for Woodson.
"Charles Woodson is the best DB ever to play the game. When you talk about top to bottom, what it takes, tackling, taking the ball away, man-to-man, he did all that at a high clip. I don't care if he played safety, but when you talk about his body of work and what he did, he played 18 seasons," Bailey said. "He dealt with all this stuff and still put the best DB campaign I've ever seen on tape. I modeled my -- I was a year behind him. He played both ways in college, so did I. So, I tried to do everything better than him, but it wasn't going to happen. The dude every week, the year he won Defensive Player of the Year, just pick-six, pick-six, I'm like, 'God dang, man'. Next thing you know, he's at 60 picks and then I retired, and he's still playing."
Bailey complimented Woodson's interception against the Denver Broncos in his final season, labeling it as one of the best he's ever seen before continuing to sing his praises.
"The dude was just eating right, man. And he's a football God, man. I mean, I put him on a pedestal. Hands down, complete defensive back, Charles Woodson is the best ever."
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Sherman chimed in, seconding that sentiment.
"Agreed. Agreed. Not even a discussion. It's just pure... He's just a football player. You put him on the field, he's going to play football. He's going to make plays. He's going to be around the ball. He's going to take it. He's going to be a football player, whether it's safety, corner, you really don't know what position he's at because he's out there playing football."
Both Bailey and Sherman, who added that Woodson was his idol growing up, noted that the Raiders legend made playing defensive back look much easier than it truly is. Former Pro Bowl and Super Bowl champion safety Ryan Clark, now an ESPN analyst, also agreed with their assessment.
"I fully agree with this!! @charleswoodson was exceptional in every single way. There will never be a duplicate. Elite outside corner, to nickel to safety! Pro bowler at every single one! 🐐 shii"
While his body of work speaks for itself, fans often leave Woodson out of the greatest defensive back of all-time discussions. His peers, however, view things differently, which should come as no surprise, as all three know what goes into playing the position at an elite level.
Clark, who was a great player, Bailey, who is a Hall of Famer, and Sherman, who will likely join him in Canton soon, are widely regarded as two of the best ever; however, all three agree that #24 in Silver and Black was on a different level.