Full Nelson

Veteran DB proving his worth.

- Michael Wagaman

The Raiders knew they were losing a big part of their defense and a huge presence in the locker room when safety Charles Woodson made the decision to re- tire following the 2015 season.

What general manager Reggie McKenzie and coach Jack Del Rio didn’t know is that they’d actually find someone who, while a few years younger and without the Hall-of-Fame credentials, would help make Wood- son’s absence in the secondary much easier to handle.

Then again, Reggie Nelson has been surprising folks for quite a while.

Nelson, the 32-year-old veteran defensive back who tied the NFL lead in interceptions last season, has been everything McKenzie and Del Rio hoped for when they signed the former Cincinnati Bengal to a two-year contract worth close to $12 million in the offseason.

On the field, Nelson has been a stabilizing presence in a secondary full of newcomers. Three of the starters in the season-opening win in New Orleans weren’t on Oakland’s roster at the start of the 2015 season while the fourth — safety Keith McGill — has spent most of his time on special teams and was a cornerback for his first two years in the league.

In the locker room, Nelson has helped fill the vacuum effect created when Woodson and defensive end Justin Tuck wandered off into the sunset. And that might be even more critical than anything Nelson does on the field.