Las Vegas Raiders: The franchise’s all-time team
By John Buhler
Las Vegas Raiders all-time team: Center
player. 28. . Center. 1960-74. Jim Otto. 00
While Bo Jackson and Gene Upshaw may have had more on-field talent, there is no debate about who is the most beloved Raider in franchise history. It is Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Otto. Not only did he play for the Silver and Black from 1960 to 1974, he might be the most decorated center in NFL history.
More from Just Blog Baby
- Raiders news: Free agent TE Foster Moreau diagnosed with cancer
- Order your Jimmy Garoppolo Las Vegas Raiders gear now
- Las Vegas Raiders: 2023 NFL Draft will make-or-break David Ziegler Era
- Raiders news: Jimmy Garoppolo offered a different kind of deal
- Raiders 2023 NFL Draft: Trading down for an elite DT on Day 1
Drafted by a Minneapolis-based AFL expansion franchise that didn’t manifest, Otto’s second-round rights would be relegated to the Oakland Raiders. He may have been undersized to play center at 6-foot-2, 255 pounds out of Miami, but Otto made an immediate impact in the AFL for the Silver and Black.
Otto made either essentially a trip to the Pro Bowl or an All-Pro team, often times both, from his rookie year in 1960 to 1972. He played in 210 games for the Raiders, playing alongside greats in Upshaw and left tackle Art Shell for extended stretches. The Raiders would win their first two Super Bowls with him leading the offensive line.
Otto was a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer, elected six years after he retired from football in 1974 as a part of the 1980 Hall of Fame Class. If his play wasn’t enough, he rocked a single-bar helmet and the double zero as his jersey number, playing off his last name. 00 for Aught-0. The guy might have been a football genius. Who in their right mind would question that anyway?
Honorable mentions: Rodney Hudson (2015-present), Don Mosebar (1983-95), Barret Robbins (1995-03)