1998 NFL draft picks keep on going
Woodson has yet to intercept Manning
ENGLEWOOD, COLO. Want to see Peyton Manning squirm?
Just ask the Denver Broncos quarterback about his memories from a December night nearly 18 years ago, when he sat in a New York City auditorium with his family and watched Charles Woodson win the Heisman Trophy. Manning’s face turned sour this week when asked about his memories from that evening. In retrospect, was there anything positive he could take from being the Heisman runner- up during an experience so few college players have? “Not especially,” Manning said. Now, nearly two decades later, the careers of Manning and Woodson continue to intersect. Somehow, in a game built for young men, this pair of top- five picks from the 1998 draft defy Father Time. It would be fitting if they retire at the same time, maybe after this season ( or next?), and enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame together.
Woodson’s Oakland Raiders will host Manning’s Broncos on Sunday, their fifth meeting in the last three years since Woodson re- signed with the Raiders. They didn’t face each other much in their first 15 NFL seasons yet are keenly aware none of Woodson’s 62 career interceptions has come at Manning’s expense.
“He’s eluded me for 18 years,” Woodson, 39, told NFL Network this week.
The advancing age of Manning, also 39, has been well- chronicled, including his
late- season decline in 2014 and the changes the Broncos have tried to make this year to accommodate him.
But Woodson’s success in the twilight of his career has remained somewhat under the radar, likely because of the Raiders’ struggles. But Oakland is off to a 2- 2 start, and Woodson has two interceptions despite playing through a shoulder injury suffered in the opener.
“It’s just incredible,” Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said.
Woodson’s ability to maintain a high level of play is a testament to the way he keeps his body in shape, Del Rio said. But it’s also a sign of just how much he has changed over 18NFL seasons.
Now, Woodson is a trusted voice in the Raiders’ locker room. His pregame speeches resonate with young players.
“When he was first in Oakland, Charles was not at all interested in being a leader on that football team. He was young, he had other things on his mind, other agendas. I don’t think he saw the big picture,” former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon told USA TODAY Sports.
“I thought it was so good he would come back to the Raiders and really that can be his legacy … the impact that he’s making with young players in the locker room, teaching them how to be professionals, how to handle themselves and conduct themselves.”
Manning has had a similar influence on the Broncos, who have won the AFC West every year since his arrival in 2012 and are first at 4- 0, even though the fivetime MVP has sputtered at times.
“I always tell players, if you see guys that play a long time, they’re obviously great players, but they’re made of the right things, too,” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said Friday.
But asmuch mutual respect exists between Manning and Woodson, a rivalry remains. Keeping his streak of no- interception games against Woodson won’t erase the sting of that Heisman night for Manning, but it might help.