No Raiders players selected to AP All-Pro team

OAKLAND, Calif. — No Raiders players were named Friday to The Associated Press All-Pro first or second team, marking the first time the franchise was not recognized in the All-Pro or Pro Bowl voting in the same season since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger.

Wide receiver Dwayne Harris and center Rodney Hudson were the only Raiders players to receive All-Pro votes.

Harris gained consideration for his special-teams work, garnering the fourth-most votes in the punt returner and special teamer categories. He twice was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, including Week 16 when he scooped up a first-quarter punt that the Denver Broncos batted down at the 1-yard line. Harris returned the punt for a 99-yard score, sparking a 27-14 win in what could be the franchise’s final game in Oakland.

That Dec. 24 play demonstrated Harris’ grasp of the rulebook.

A return team can claim possession of a football that a punt-coverage team first touches without consequence. For example, had Harris scooped and hypothetically lost possession on a fumble after the Broncos batted it, his turnover would have been negated, and the Raiders would retain possession at the original spot where the Broncos downed it.

Harris applied his rulebook knowledge on Dec. 2, too.

A Kansas City Chiefs kickoff bounced inside the 5-yard line near the boundary. Harris stepped out of bounds and, while beyond the field of play, touched the football, resulting in an illegal kickoff. The Raiders took possession at their own 40-yard line.

Harris averaged 14.1 yards per punt return, third-best in the NFL. His 15 special-teams tackles ranked second-most in the league behind Los Angeles Chargers safety Adrian Phillips’ 17.

The Raiders (4-12) hope to extend Harris’ contract. His one-year deal, signed in April, is due to expire March 13.

Hudson received the fifth-most votes at center. He had an obvious case for more as the only Raiders player to appear in all 1,042 offensive snaps. He was considered a rock on the offensive line, playing beside four different left guards and, in Gabe Jackson, a right guard who played most of the season with either a partially torn pectoral muscle or fractured elbow. Hudson dealt with various ailments himself, including an ankle injury that he suffered in Week 1 and managed all season.

Still, Hudson allowed no sacks.

His five quarterback pressures were the fewest surrendered by an NFL player with at least 700 snaps at center, according to Pro Football Focus.

Hudson received two of 50 All-Pro votes. The Philadelphia Eagles’ Jason Kelce (28), Pittsburgh Steelers’ Maurkice Pouncey (10), Chicago Bears’ Cody Whitehair (three) and New Orleans Saints’ Max Unger (three) attracted more.

The Raiders were shut out of the All-Pro voting after the 2017 season, too. This is their first time without an All-Pro selection in consecutive years since 1987 to 1989.

Fifty media members compile the voting for All-Pro distinction. Pro Bowl rosters are determined by one-third fan, player and coach vote.

Hudson, tight end Jared Cook and left guard Kelechi Osemele were chosen as Pro Bowl alternates. Neither Cook nor Osemele received All-Pro votes. At tight end, the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce (21), the San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle (18½) and the Eagles’ Zach Ertz (10½) were the only ones who did.

More Raiders: Follow at reviewjournal.com/Raiders and @NFLinVegas on Twitter.

Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GehlkenNFL on Twitter.