On This Day: Raiders Draft Charles Woodson Fourth Overall in 1998 NFL Draft
April 19, 2025 — On this day 27 years ago, the Oakland Raiders made one of the most significant draft picks in franchise history, selecting Michigan standout and Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson with the fourth overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft.
Woodson arrived in the NFL with a rare blend of athleticism, intelligence, and swagger. Fresh off a historic college career—where he became the first primarily defensive player to win the Heisman—expectations were sky-high. The Raiders, under head coach Jon Gruden at the time, saw in Woodson the potential to be a game-changer in their secondary.
He didn’t disappoint.
Woodson made an immediate impact in Oakland, earning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 1998 and quickly establishing himself as one of the league’s premier cornerbacks. His instincts, ball skills, and ability to lock down elite receivers made him the centerpiece of the Raiders’ defense through the early 2000s.
He helped lead the team to the Super Bowl in the 2002 season and later extended his Hall of Fame career with the Green Bay Packers, where he won a Super Bowl and the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2009. Woodson eventually returned to Oakland to finish his career, becoming a beloved figure for Raider Nation.
Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021, Woodson’s legacy is cemented not just in Raiders history, but in the annals of NFL greatness.
Twenty-seven years after that iconic draft pick, fans still remember April 19, 1998, as the day the Silver and Black landed a legend.
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