Charles Woodson from elite corner to elite safety

October 11, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders free safety Charles Woodson (24) intercepts the football intended for Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (88) during the third quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Broncos 16-10. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

As you know, the Oakland Raiders now have just as many wins in six games as they had in all 16 last year. Head coach Jack Del Rio and his staff are much better than Dennis Allen and his were. But it’s all about the players and the Raiders have a much better roster than they had last year too.

Last year, there were too many average-to-bad players and not enough good-to-elite players. But with the last couple of drafts and free agent periods along with developing, this is a much better roster. The Raiders have a couple of elite players this year and one comes in under the classification of redeveloped.

Charles Woodson was an elite corner with the Raiders and Green Bay Packers from 1998 through the 200os. In 2009, he was the NFL Defensive Player of the year in the early 2010s, moved to safety. From there, he had to redevelop himself and now he’s an elite safety at age 39.

He said he may play another 10 years so he may become as good a safety as he was corner. But in all seriousness, he’s still improving at 39 as he has four INTs in six game when he had the same amount all year last year. He’s already won AFC Defensive Player of the month for October while playing with a shoulder injury.

He’s still athletic enough to fly around, go up in the air, and make craziest game-changing INTs. Woodson saved the game against the Cleveland Browns then gave the Raiders a chance to beat the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos. If not for the mistakes made by young players on offense, the Raiders would have won those games.

That’s what elite players do.

Right now, Woodson is in a 3-way tie for the NFL’s lead in INTs plus he can still cover one-on-one. And even though Pro Football Focus has him at No. 18, they still partially make my case that he is elite. No. 18 is his overall rating but in coverage, Pro Football focus has Woodson at No 3 by a narrow margin from No. 1.

It’s his blitzing and run defense, two things he’s known for doing well, that have his overall rank down. There is a logical explanation for why he’s not tackling and blitzing to well these days. He’s been playing with a shoulder he dislocated on opening day against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Most of his negative grades in those departments had to have come within his first two games playing with the injury. You could see how much his shoulder bothered him when he had to make contact and in forced him to miss tackles and not bring on his blitzes. Pro Football Focus doesn’t take things like that into consideration so his grade is his grade.

But those that know Woodson under normal circumstances now he’s an elite safety now.

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