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This week Jared Cook got the call to join the AFC Pro Bowl squad in Orlando as an alternate, replacing Travis Kelce. He took the practice field today for his first practice. But he shouldn’t be the only Raiders player on that field this week.
Another first alternate the Raiders had was Rodney Hudson. But he never got that call. Based on his performance, he should have gotten the call as a starter before the season was over. But alas, he did not and that’s a travesty.
Don’t take my word for it, ask the folks at Pro Football Focus.
You won’t see a non-Raiders publication who has been banging the table for Rodney Hudson to get his due more than PFF. According to their numbers, the Raiders center was the best pass blocker at his position by a considerable margin.
This graphic accurately illustrates how there’s Rodney Hudson................. and then there’s everyone else.
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Hudson led the team with 1042 snaps this past season. That’s every single snap, in case you were wondering. Of those, 651 were pass blocking snaps. That means he gave up just 5 pressures this season and no sacks.
Lest you should think this is just one year, let’s go back two years. And the margin got wider. Like A LOT wider.
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His 940 snaps in 2017 also led the Raiders. And he gave up a combined total of 8 pressures in two years.
And lest you should think this is just the past two years, they went back through his career to show his remarkable consistency, including an average pass blocking grade over 90 and the best grade in the league in each of his four seasons in Oakland.
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As for his run blocking, it’s pretty damn good too. His grade of 66.2 was 9th in the league at his position and his combined grade of 76.5 was third among NFL centers behind only Jason Kelce (84.9) and Alex Mack (77.3); with Kelce named All Pro and Mack headed to the Pro Bowl this year for the NFC squad.
That also means Hudson was graded as the best center in the AFC, and yet missed out on the Pro Bowl invite in favor of Mike and Maurkice Pouncey.
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