Charles Woodson has been plugging the Raiders this season in his new role as an ESPN studio analyst on Sunday NFL Countdown, so it’s not surprising he is excited about a 7-2 record at the bye week.

“You’re having an exciting time out there. I’m loving it,” Woodson said in a recent phone interview.

To Woodson, the Raiders’ resurgence is a continuation of what he saw as a player on a team that went from 3-13 to 7-9 in the second and third years of his second tour of duty in Oakland.

Mostly, the Raiders’ current state has more to do with Reggie McKenzie stocking the roster with talent than anything else.

“When I first came back three years ago, there were a few players with first-round type talent and we didn’t have any depth,” Woodson said.

Woodson referenced returning players such as tackle Donald Penn, free agent signings such as center Rodney Hudson, guard Kelechi Osemele and cornerback Sean Smith, 2015 waiver claim David Amerson and draft picks such as Derek Carr and Khalil Mack as being a solid core to the roster.

“Now you just have more depth, more quality players to go out there and finish ballgames,” Woodson said. “We weren’t able to finish. We might keep it close for a while, but we could never close it out. Now they’re able to close out games.”

When Woodson came to the Raiders in 2013 on a free-agent visit, a social media driven welcome at the team facility with more than a hundred fans begged for him to return.

Woodson signed, and the moment has a place in his heart, but he can see where the franchise needs a suitable place play — whether it’s Oakland, Las Vegas or someplace else.

“It’s more about an actual stadium than a move,” Woodson said. “I played in Green Bay. I look at their stadium, I look at the Packers Hall of Fame and all the things that go into that experience.

“I feel the Oakland Raiders are an organization that deserves something like that. You can’t talk about the NFL without the Raiders, the three Super Bowl championships, what Al Davis meant to the league.”

So what happens?

“You would love for a stadium to happen right there in Oakland,” Woodson said. “But I feel like there’s some kind of sentiment to deny the Raiders the respect they’re due, to have a top high quality stadium, to keep up with what’s going on in the rest of the league.

“I would love for them to stay in Oakland, but I know Mark Davis is fighting tirelessly to get a stadium and I would be happy to see them get one wherever it may be.”

Woodson will be part of the ESPN crew when the Raiders come back from their bye week to face the Houston Texans in Mexico City on Nov. 21.