Pre-draft His 440-pound bench press, 630-pound back squat, 385-pound power clean are UNC records for a fullback. He was called the "best blocking back" in the
ACC by
The Sporting News.
St. Louis Rams Hedgecock spent his first two professional seasons with the
St. Louis Rams after being selected in the seventh round of the
2005 NFL draft. Hedgecock's skills impressed his Rams coaches early. “He is a big hammer, a big lead blocker,” Martz said. “He fits into what we do in terms of running the football. He has nice soft hands and is a good receiver. These guys are so hard to find.” "Madison has really stepped up and done a nice job" Martz added. "In what we do (at) that fullback position is really a tight end or be on the line of scrimmage or we flex him. We do so many things over there that for a rookie to come in and absorb that is pretty difficult to do. He struggled a bit for awhile. I think he really has a better understanding of what we are trying to do right now." Hedgecock said he had a slight advantage coming in because of the system he was in at North Carolina. "My college offense the fullback was similar to here. They do a lot of moving and shifting and changing assignments. I guess other offenses might be different. There are a lot of similarities to here." The Rams reportedly liked Hedgecock's size and were enamored with his devotion to lead blocking. "It can be a fun thing," said Hedgecock. "You see that tailback run for 100 yards, that's where I get my glory." Hedgecock filled that role according to interim head coach
Joe Vitt. "He's getting better every single game," Vitt said. "He kind of reminds me of
"Moose" Johnston. He's a force when he hits you." Rams running back coach
Wilbert Montgomery added, "I like his attitude, he's a nasty kid. Coming out of school, he was an animal, he won't back down from you." Hedgecock added, "Lead blocking never changes. You just go in there and murder somebody." Later in the season Hedgecock broke his thumb but continued to play in a Rams 30–28 loss to Seattle. He did not miss any games with that injury or another subsequent ankle sprain even though the broken thumb required in-season surgery. Through those injuries Hedgecock played well. One veteran NFC scout told the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Steven Jackson's one of the two, three best guys in the whole league. He's got everything it takes . . . But when they need to put a guy in there to lead-block, Madison Hedgecock's as good as anybody." In addition to his lead blocking role, Hedgecock was among the Rams leaders in tackles on special teams in 2005 and 2006 and was voted the Rams
Outstanding Special Teams player in 2005. Hedgecock was released following the first game of the regular season in 2007 and was replaced on the roster by Richard Owens, a fullback-tight end hybrid who had ties to Rams' then-head coach
Scott Linehan from their time together with the Minnesota Vikings, as well a brief crossover as the University of Louisville. While Hedgecock was already regarded as one of the league's best pure blocking fullbacks., At the time, the Giants were seeking a replacement for seven-year veteran
Jim Finn, who had been placed on injured reserve with a torn
labrum in his right shoulder. He signed a five-year, $5.5 million contract extension with the Giants on November 10, 2007. According to press accounts, he was a major factor in the Giants' Super Bowl run. He was called by
ESPN "a key component for their sixth-rated rushing attack" and that he "stepped into the lineup and provided the Giants with the kind of lead-blocking fullback they needed." The
New York Daily News called Hedgecock an "unsung hero" on the Giants championship team. He was noted for his play against Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Green Bay. Against Tampa Bay, "Hedgecock manhandled linebacker
Barrett Ruud and running back
Brandon Jacobs followed him through a huge hole for an 8-yard touchdown that helped give the Giants a 14-7 lead." FOX announcer Joe Buck said on-air, "What were the Rams thinking letting this guy go?" during the Tampa Bay playoff game. Against Dallas, Hedgecock blocked two players on an
Amani Toomer touchdown in the first quarter and later delivered a key lead block on
Bradie James on a Jacobs touchdown which drew raves from ESPN's
Ron Jaworski among others. ""This kid's been phenomenal," Jaworski said as Hedgecock planted linebacker Bradie James." Former Eagles assistant coach Mike Kelly said, "For straight-ahead power football, this is clinic tape." "Madison's arrival was very important and he has given us a physical presence at that position," offensive coordinator
Kevin Gilbride said. "He's not overwhelmed by being one-on-one with those linebackers. We're not a West Coast fullback. When you're at fullback, you're in there to block. Maybe we'll throw you the ball once in a while. He fits the definition of the position for us." “Excellent fit,” coach Tom Coughlin added. “A physical, lead-blocking fullback that has good hands and can be a factor in the play-action game. And he’s done an outstanding job on special teams on the wedge on kickoff returns and has brought physical toughness to our team.” Hedgecock started at fullback for the Giants in
Super Bowl XLII. Hedgecock had one reception for 3 yards as the Giants defeated the
New England Patriots 17–14. He is also credited with giving head coach
Tom Coughlin the traditional '
Gatorade bath'. During the Super Bowl media blitz Hedgecock was critical of Rams head coach
Scott Linehan who was responsible for releasing him after Week One of the 2007 season. Hedgecock told a St. Louis radio station that Linehan was not well respected by many of the Rams players and was boring enough to put some players asleep. “The head coach brought in a player that he’d had in college,” Hedgecock told St. Louis radio station KSLG. Hedgecock also said about his release, “When you get fired, it’s a tough deal,” Hedgecock, the Giants’ fullback, said Wednesday after practice. “I didn’t think I did anything as a player to deserve it.” . . . “They could have at least brought in somebody that was good. He was the coach’s buddy. I don’t want to play for a buddy.” On November 23, 2008, Hedgecock scored his first career touchdown against the
Arizona Cardinals in the form of a 2-yard touchdown pass from
Eli Manning. He was the lead blocker for two 1,000-yard rushers (Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward) for the 2008 New York Giants. With Hedgecock as the fullback the Giants rushed for over 2,500 yards and had a team rushing average of 5.0 yards a carry, both among the league leaders as the Giants ended with a 12–4 record. Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun wrote, "Ravens inside linebacker Bart Scott says one of the major keys to stopping the Giants' running game is to stop fullback Madison Hedgecock in the hole. That sounds like an easy task, but it isn't especially since Hedgecock weighs 266 pounds." After the 2008 season for the Giants, Hedgecock was voted as a First Alternate to the Pro Bowl and was a Second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press. He also drew praise from Hall of Fame tackle Dan Dierdorf, "Hedgecock won't ever lead the NFL in rushing but he'll lead block for a lot a yards and he's a gifted receiver with soft hands who runs good routes." Hedgeock also was named to the
Sports Illustrated All-Pro team by Peter King who quipped, "Not sure, but I think he's got an anvil in his pads." Giant teammate, All-Pro
Justin Tuck told
Pro Football Weekly, "Madison plays with reckless abandon, his tolerance for pain is just phenomenal". One of the backs who rushed for 1,000 yards in 2008, Brandon Jacobs added, "He makes good blocks all the time and that's what we need from him, to come out and do his job and he does it really well." Jacobs added, "When he flattens a guy, that makes us jump. That gets me excited when I see something like that, when he gets going with a full head of steam and then knocking somebody out. That's what he does, he puts people on their backs." Said Hedgecock, "I just block. I just square my guys." Hedgecock's impressive run blocking led to 1,000 rushing yards for both
Brandon Jacobs and
Derrick Ward during the
2008 NFL season. In 2009 Hedgecock played the season with a torn labrum for which he had off-season surgery. The following season, 2010, he had a hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve after only four games that season. He was released by the Giants on July 28, 2011, due to failing his physical. Hedgecock stated his degenerative disc disease in his back would likely end his career, "I'm old and beat up," Hedgecock said. "If I keep playing, it's going to get worse and worse. My hamstring (2010 injury), was because of the back being out of whack." He also wished his replacement well, "Hopefully, they can get somebody else to do what I used to do. Maybe one of the younger guys will step up and do a good job there." Hedgecock said he was contacted by one of his former coaches (who then was a head coach on a team in the midwest) to see if he was physically able to play a role in blocking for a "consistent 1,500 rusher" but had to decline the invitation due to the severity of his back. He also heard from the head coach who once let him go, and "we buried the hatchet". "'He told me releasing me was as big a mistake as he made there and my replacement let him down'. "That made up for it and I never wish a man ill for things in that are in the past", said Hedgecock. ==Personal life==