Who are the top 5 centers in Raiders history?
The death of Raiders icon Jim Otto created a wave of emotions for fans of the storied franchise.
It also served as a reminder of how good the team has been at center throughout its history.
The Raiders had only three primary starters at the position from their inception in 1960 all the way to 1995. It’s a remarkable run, one that few franchises can boast of at any spot in the lineup.
Here are the five best centers in Raiders history:
1. Jim Otto, 1960-74
Mr. Raider was with the club from the start.
Otto locked down the center position for 15 straight seasons, starting a team-record 210 consecutive games.
Otto was named to the All-AFL first team by The Associated Press nine times in 10 years from 1960-69. He then transitioned to the NFL after the 1970 merger and was named a first team All-Pro in 1970.
Otto is on the All-Time AFL team, the NFL’s 100th anniversary All-Time team and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame his first year of eligibility in 1980.
2. Dave Dalby, 1972-1985
The Raiders were fortunate to have an ace up their sleeve when Otto retired after the 1974 season.
Dalby, drafted in the fourth round out of UCLA in 1972, was waiting in the wings. He started every game the four seasons following Otto’s retirement and started 135 in total for the Raiders from 1975-85.
Dalby played in all three of the team’s Super Bowl wins and helped lead the club to the playoffs eight years in a row.
3. Don Mosebar, 1983-1995
The Raiders, after UCLA alum Dalby retired following the 1985 season, turned to a former Southern California All-American for their next center.
Mosebar was a tackle in college but converted to guard once he was drafted in the first round in 1983. Offensive line coach Art Shell made him change positions again in 1986 to become Dalby’s replacement.
It was a brilliant decision.
Mosebar had the same ironmen tendencies as his predecessors. He started 146 of the Raiders’ 149 games the next 10 seasons, making three Pro Bowls in the process.
His career was cut short by an eye injury he suffered in training camp in 1995. His retirement ended a remarkable run where the Raiders had three different centers hold down the position for 34 years.
4. Barret Robbins, 1995-2003
Robbins, a 1995 second-round pick out of Texas Christian, provided the Raiders with another stalwart at the position soon after Mosebar’s retirement.
Robbins suffered from depression throughout his career. That led to a well-known incident the day before Super Bowl 37 in 2003 when he didn’t take his medication and went missing for almost 24 hours.
That and other subsequent controversies overshadowed how good of a player Robbins was. He started 78 of the Raiders’ 80 games from 1996-2000. He also made the Pro Bowl and was named a first-team All-Pro the year of his Super Bowl disappearance.
The incident was the beginning of the end of Robbins’ career. He played just nine games in 2003 and was released in the summer of 2004 after testing positive for a steroid.
5. Rodney Hudson, 2015-2020
Hudson played six years with the Raiders after joining them as a free agent in 2015.
Just one of those seasons resulted in a winning record. But Hudson doesn’t deserve blame for any of that. He was one of the best centers in the NFL during his Raiders tenure, starting 79 of a possible 80 games in that span. Hudson was selected to the Pro Bowl three times in that stretch and was named a second-team All-Pro once.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
