Packers: Charles Woodson named semifinalist for 2021 Hall of Fame

Former Packers great Charles Woodson has been named as a 2021 Hall of Fame semifinalist.

The 2021 Hall of Fame class is shaping up to be a great one and fans of the Green Bay Packers should be excited for the induction of one of the best cornerbacks of the 2000s. The Packers had their fair share of good corners throughout the early 2000s with Mike Mckenzie and Al Harris being very solid in their own right.

Charles Woodson came over to the Packers before the 2006 season after spending his first eight years in Oakland, where he was drafted. There were some worries about Woodson going into 2006, his final years with the Raiders were plagued with injuries and many thought the former All-Pro didn’t have it anymore.

Those conversations were quickly put to rest as Woodson made an immediate impact in Green Bay, going on to have six very productive years before injuries once again ruined his final year with the team.

Over the course of his Green Bay tenure, Woodson was a Pro-Bowler every year from 2008 to 2011. He was an All-Pro selection in 2009 and 2011, and he also won Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 at the age of 33.

That 2009 season was a special year for the future Hall-of-Famer as he led the league with nine interceptions, three of them going back for touchdowns, and forced four fumbles. Woodson was a turnover machine throughout his entire Packers career, getting at least seven interceptions four times and leading the league in that category twice.

It’s not very often that corners remain as effective as he was so late into his career. Many people say that cornerback is the hardest position to play other than quarterback. It requires a lot of athleticism which is why you see so many defensive backs fall off later in their career.

Woodson was one of those guys who was not only a great athlete but also saw the field like none other. He was a true ball-hawk and even when he did start to slow down, he made the transition to free safety where he still was well above average at that position.

I was a young teenager when Woodson came to the team so getting to grow up watching him was truly a treat. He gave the Packers defense an identity that they were sorely lacking for many years and in my opinion, raised the play of others around him.

Who knows how good someone like Nick Collins would have been without Woodson or even his cornerback counterpart, and very underrated player, Al Harris. I think Woodson may go into the Hall as a Raider due to how many years he played for them but he has mentioned before how special his Green Bay years were to him due to winning a Super Bowl.

Either way, there is a lot of love on both sides and Woodson is 100 percent deserving of being a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.