When the Raiders signed center Rodney Hudson to a free-agent deal worth a reported $44.5 million over five years this past offseason, some analysts said Oakland had overpaid.
The deal made Hudson, who played his first four years with the Kansas City Chiefs, the highest-paid player at his position in the NFL, worth even more than perennial Pro Bowlers such as Alex Mack and Maurkice Pouncey.
Yet six games into the 2015 season, Hudson has proven he’s worth every cent.. As the 3-3 Raiders prepare to host the New York Jets this Sunday, the Oakland offensive line has become one of the team’s strongest links. The group up front has consistently given quarterback Derek Carr great protection while also opening up holes for the running game.
This past Sunday, in a convincing victory over AFC West rival San Diego, Hudson was outstanding. The analytic website Pro Football Focus graded Hudson as the top-performing center in the NFL this past week with a terrific plus-6.5 grade.
“This was as good of a performance as we’ve seen from a center all year,” wrote Pro Football Focus’ Khaled Elsayed. “Spending big money on linemen in free agency can be risky, but if Hudson can build on this game, it will be worth it.”
Hudson has been an upgrade from Stefan Wisniewski and been a leader in the middle of the line. Although the Raiders lost starting right tackle Menelik Watson just before the start of the season, the line hasn’t missed a beat. With Hudson at center, Gabe Jackson and J’Marcus Webb at guards and Donald Penn and Austin Howard (taking over for Watson) at tackles, the Raiders fivesome under first-year line coach Mike Tice has been outstanding. And that’s allowing skill performers such as Carr, Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree and Latavius Murray to make plays.
On Tuesday, Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie – who signed Penn, Hudson, Howard and Webb as free agents and drafted Jackson – said it’s been a joy to watch Hudson produce.
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“We thought he was a good player,” McKenzie told a writer for the team’s website. “Money aside, at the end of the day, do you like the player? The market dictates everything else. We penciled him in as a guy we really liked, that we wanted. Once we found that he was interested we just went after it. Yes, he’s what we thought.”
