Arizona Cardinals center Hjalte Froholdt was named as one of Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded centers from the 2024 NFL season.
PFF’s Jim Wyman listed Froholdt as the seventh highest-graded center with a 76.1 grade, noting Froholdt has come a long way since his NFL career began in 2019.
Froholdt has had one of the more interesting career paths among players on this list. Drafted in 2019 by the Patriots, Froholdt only played 61 snaps in New England and was waived after his second season. He was claimed by the Texans in 2021 but didn’t play a snap for them before joining the Browns in 2022, with whom he also had inconsistent playing time.
Wyman noted that Froholdt playing over 1,000 snaps each of the last two seasons and his run-blocking grade as reasons he was listed as the 7th highest-graded center in 2024.
The Cardinals took a chance on Froholdt in 2023 as their starting center, and he has not disappointed, playing more than 1,000 snaps in each of his two seasons in the desert. Froholdt had a career year in 2024 in both PFF overall grade and PFF run-blocking grade (78.1).
Froholdt played 1,078 snaps in 17 games for the Cardinals last season. The Cardinals had the seventh best rushing offense in the NFL, rushing for 2,451 yards, scoring 18 touchdowns and averaging over 144 yards a game. Froholdt blocked for running back James Conner who rushed for over 1,000 yards and scored nine touchdowns.
Prior to the 2024 season, the Cardinals signed Froholdt to a two-year contract extension.
Froholdt was a bright spot for a Cardinals offensive line that dealt with several injuries last season, including to right tackle Jonah Williams who missed several games with knee injuries. The Cardinals also lost right guard Will Hernandez during the season due to a knee injury.