Jon Gruden says Raiders’ Rodney Hudson is ‘best center that I’ve coached’

The discussion of all-time Raiders centers starts with Jim Otto, which made the comparison head coach Jon Gruden drew Wednesday a notable one.

With Otto in Napa last weekend for an alumni event, Gruden said he struck up a conversation with the franchise’s first center about its current one, Rodney Hudson.

“There are a lot of similar qualities,” Gruden said, “in terms of toughness, passion for football and communication. And just all-around effort.”

Doubters of Hudson’s toughness can see Week 15 last season, when he played all 66 offensive snaps in a loss to the Cowboys with a kidney stone.