The Las Vegas Raiders still need to address their offensive line in a few weeks. Luckily for them, this year’s rookie prospects are plentiful as far as offensive linemen go. This means the team can pick up a defensive player in the first while picking up a starting offensive lineman in the second round.
The Raiders’ offensive line went thru some profound changes this offseason, affecting both the short and long-term prospects of this team. Gone is the long-time anchor in center Rodney Hudson. He was at one point, the best all-around NFL center and criminally underrated in his Silver and Black stint. The other major change was tackle Trent Brown getting shipped back to the New England Patriots. Say what you will about Brown, but so many factors played into his departure. Moving forward, the only thing that matters is that there’s a huge void left there.
The Raiders have taken some positive steps too
It wasn’t all concerning news, the Raiders were able to retain Richie Incognito and Denzelle Good. This bodes well for the line’s interior after Hudson’s departure. The problem for Las Vegas is that Incognito won’t be playing for much longer and while Good is invaluable, he’s more suited to dominate in the middle than as the everyday right tackle. Tom Cable’s unit could see an infusion of talent during this upcoming NFL draft where those deficiencies could be taken care of.
When talking about the draft’s first round, the team’s brass will have the chance to go different routes. They could draft a premier pass rusher or select an interior defensive lineman. Also, they could pick up a starting cornerback though as we all know, Raider Nation would punch their television sets if this took place. This flexibility means that the organization could realistically draft an offensive lineman of starting caliber in the second round.
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This is a historically deep year for tackles, and quality starting tackles are likely to be available as late as the third round. The front office should look closely at the various candidates and decide where they should be drafting the tackle. The second probably makes sense, as the Raiders have to have a starting tackle in this draft, and if they waited until the third an early run on tackles could be disastrous. I disagree about the soundness of the interior of the line. The coaching staff seems to believe in James, and he does have an experienced backup, but Good is a career backup and Incognito is ancient by NFL standards, and coming off a major injury. So drafting a guard by the end of 3 seems pretty likely.