Despite being drafted by the Steelers in the first round, 10th overall, in the 1987 draft, Rod Woodson’s NFL career didn’t exactly start well. His position was changed from safety to cornerback; he was held out due to a contract dispute during the first half of the season; and later, there were rumors that he would leave the league to compete in the 1988 Olympic Games in track and field. But when he finally signed and played the final eight games of the NFL season, it was just the beginning… The beginning of a grueling shift in position. It would take him three years to feel comfortable as a CB, and then too, there were days his eyes would automatically shift to the backfield. Certainly not a good thing when you play corner.

Years later, things were about to fall back in place as he jumped from the Steelers to the 49ers and eventually landed in Baltimore. Finally, after 164 NFL games as a cornerback, which included his first season with the Ravens in 1998, he was to return to the same position he played since he was a nine-year-old, Safety, only this time, under defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis.

Although he made 11 Pro Bowls at three positions, which is no easy feat in itself, it’s worth asking, how the 1999 homecoming did feel for the man who thrived in several roles. Matthew Hamilton, who is Kay Adams’ podcast partner and also a big Rod Woodson fan, was curious too. In the latest episode of  ‘Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams’ on YouTube, Hamilton asked, “The fact that you played at a Hall of Fame level at both corner and safety—and basically had two Hall of Fame careers in one—and were the best returner in the league when they put you back there earlier in your career, too. I mean, there was just nothing you couldn’t do. And it was awesome growing up watching you.”

Woodson responded: “You know what was fun? A lot of people don’t know that I played safety my whole life. So all the way from nine years old to all the way up to my senior year at Purdue, I played safety. They moved me to corner. So my senior year, I played corner, receiver, and tailback. A little everything at Purdue. And when I ran my 40 at the combine, I ran a 4.30. They were like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re going to be a corner.’ And I’m like, ‘What! No, I’m not a corner. I’m a safety.’ And they’re like, ‘No, you’re going to be a corner.'”

He logged 71 INTs and recorded 1,483 INT return yards, along with 12 pick-sixes during his time. He was the all-rounder.

“But luckily for me, I had Tony Dungy for my first three years in the league. And Tony loved me, taught me how to play the game at that position. But when I did finally switch over to safety in year 12, it was to me it was like, ‘Oh, I’m home’.” 

“You know how you come from a long day of work and you get on your couch, you’re like, ‘Yeah’. It felt like that. It was natural for me to play safety, where corner, I had to learn how to play on the outside and learn how to play at that position where safety I was doing that since I was 9 years old, and I just went out and played football.” But there was someone who was an important part of his success as a safety.

The Rod Woodson masterstroke: Billick’s Baltimore Blueprint

When Rod Woodson landed with the Ravens in 1998, he was still primarily a corner. But new head coach Brian Billick, fresh off coordinating the 1998 Vikings offense, saw beyond the aging speed. He saw the innate safety instincts buried since Purdue. So, it wasn’t just about filling a spot; it was unleashing Woodson’s football soul and providing a masterclass for a young defense featuring Ray Lewis and Chris McAlister.

The results were instant vindication. Woodson snagged 7 INTs and scored a TD twice in 1999. That feeling of “home” Woodson described? It wasn’t just muscle memory from his youth. It was the perfect alignment of a coach’s vision (Billick’s), a player’s deepest instinct (Rod’s safety roots), and a team culture (Baltimore’s defensive obsession) converging at the right moment.

So Rod Woodson’s journey wasn’t a straight line. It was a masterclass in adaptation. And Ravens fans and Brian Billick will always have a piece of his Hall of Fame heart. What do you think?