The 33rd Team continued with its series ranking the best players at each position in NFL history by ranking the top 10 cornerbacks, and one former Steelers corner made the list with Rod Woodson coming in at No. 2. Shockingly, Mel Blount was nowhere to be found in the top 10 on the list by Marcus Mosher.
Woodson was No. 2, coming in behind Deion Sanders. Mosher wrote that there’s an argument to be made for Woodson as the best defensive back of all-time because he didn’t have a weakness.
“He created takeaways, shut down top receivers, and made plays in the run game. Woodson did not have a weakness, and that’s why you can make a strong case he is the best defensive back in NFL history.”
As a cornerback, he made seven Pro Bowls before switching to safety. He was also named an All-Pro five times, while also winning Defensive Player of The Year in 1993. While Woodson had 71 career interceptions, Mosher only included his career as a cornerback, and 47 of his interceptions came while playing cornerback.
For reference, Blount had 57 career interceptions at corner and was so dominant the league had to change the rules because of him. How he doesn’t make the list but someone like Richard Sherman, who ranked No. 10 with 37 career interceptions, does is mind-boggling. Blount was also consistently one of the top corners in the league throughout his career, while Sherman fell off a little bit toward the end of his career.
Not ranking Blount in the top 10 is really a travesty and it’s tough to wrap my head around omitting him fom this list. Woodson is well-deserving of his place on the list, and you could definitely make an argument to put him No. 1, but I don’t have too much of an issue with putting Sanders in the top spot.
The top five was rounded out by Mike Haynes at No. 3, Darrelle Revis at No. 4 and Dick “Night Train” Lane at No. 5. Haynes coming in at No. 3 makes it even more surprising that Blount wasn’t included in the list. During the overlap in their careers from 1976-1983, Blount outpaced Haynes in interceptions 34-29, and Blount finished his career with more interceptions than Haynes. Haynes was still a great player and deserves to be on the list but putting him that much higher than Blount just doesn’t feel right.
Obviously, these rankings are subjective, and everyone will have their own opinion on who are the top players in history. It especially gets tough comparing players between eras, but not putting Blount in the top 10 is a mistake in my opinion.
