Two years ago, Andre James went undrafted as a tackle. And now he is being asked to replace one of the best centers in the game. The NFL can be a crazy place sometimes.
On day one of Raiders training camp, James stepped to the podium to speak with the media for the first time ever.
Prior to this year, he spent two years sitting behind Rodney Hudson as a relative unknown who seemed like he was closer to the roster fringe than replacing a player of Hudson’s stature.
That all changed this offseason in a big way. Hudson was traded to the Cardinals for a third-round pick — in large part as a cost-cutting measure — and suddenly the job was James’s to lose. A far cry from a guy who two years ago was passed up in the draft and has appeared on offense in just two games with one start in his young career.
The Raiders liked James because he has quick feet. Those feet served him well as a tackle at UCLA, while his 6-4 stature was more suited for a move inside. That combination of things had Tom Cable thinking center. Even if James was not.
“Coming in being undrafted was definitely kind of a blow,” James said. “Change of positions was also a big thing to me, it was like ‘we want you to play center’ and I was like ‘perfect let’s do it.’ Didn’t think I was going to play center. I knew I was going to play something interior because I didn’t think of myself as a tackle, but my mindset was just attack it, listen to everything I could, pick up everything I can from these older guys like Rodney and everything Cable’s told me and just take it day-by-day.”
This all seems like a real roll of the dice given James’s limited game experience. But if there was any doubt about the faith the coaching staff has in him, that was put to rest when they gave him an extension this offseason. It also put James’s mind at ease.
“It feels awesome, man, honestly,” James said of the faith the coaches have shown in him. “It gives me confidence having confidence from these coaches. It helps me elevate my game in a way that I have no need to worry and I can go out there and play as hard as I can.”
Rodney Hudson leaves behind some big shoes to fill. For James’s part, though, he benefited from having Hudson as a mentor. Sitting behind Hudson these past couple of seasons afforded James the time to work on the intricacies of the center position while learning from a master.
“Rodney is arguably one of the best centers in the league,” said James. “Every day I came in here, I got a little piece of information from him every day. That’s the same tack I take on it every day I just get a little better. Just work on the little things and it adds up over time to get a little better. So, everything I learned from him, I’m still using today.”
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