Updated June 29, 2026, 12:24 p.m. PT
It may be hard to imagine the Raiders offensive line being competitive after what we witnessed from them last season. But it may not be as fantastical as you might think.
That’s not to take a pie-in-the-sky approach to things. That’s certainly not my style. It just might take a little bit of examination and perhaps some benefit of the doubt. If you squint a bit, you might be able to reasonably see it too – could the Raiders offensive line actually…be good this year?
Let’s look back at the issues they had last year. First and foremost…
Coaching
That’s the elephant in the room whenever you talk about the Raiders offensive line issues from last season. Pete Carroll decided to give his son the job as offensive line coach and from all indications, he was way out of his depth. The offensive linemen were said to be trying to coach each other because Brenden Carroll was either not up to the task or not doing his job. Or both.
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That’s how to go from a decent offensive line the year before to the worst in the NFL seemingly overnight.
Every guy out there seemed to be lost as to their assignments and it led to free rushers all over the line and less than no room to run for Ashton Jeanty. The blame on each play goes to the lineman who missed his block, but these lapses were so common across the line, it was clearly a coaching issue.
Carroll was ousted with his dad after one season and new head coach Klint Kubiak brought Rick Dennison with him from Seattle and several previous stops.
Dennison has been coaching NFL offensive lines for 25 years, the last time being a three-year stint with the Minnesota Vikings from 2019-21. The team ranked sixth, fifth, and 17th in rushing in those three seasons.
At very least the Raiders have a proven competent offensive line coach. So, presumably the offensive linemen will no longer be running around with no clue as to what they’re doing.
New additions
No position was more of an issue last season than center. Where they decided Jackson Powers-Johnson wasn’t it and went with Jordan Meredith instead. Meredith got eaten up and tossed around play after play. Then he left with injury and Will Putnam came in…and was worse.
There was no way the Raiders were going to draft a franchise quarterback with the center position in this state. So, they made Tyler Linderbaum their top priority free agent, signing the three-time Pro Bowler to a massive free agent deal. His addition puts a proven talent in the middle of the line and that’s no small thing.
The only other free agent addition of note is Spencer Burford. His signing didn’t make so much as a ripple in free agency, but could be notable just the same. The former fourth round pick has started 38 games in his career, all in the same zone blocking scheme Dennison will be deploying. As of this moment, Burford has been lining up with the first team at left guard. He replaced Dylan Parham who the team let leave in free agency.
The lone draft pick spent on the offensive line was third round pick (91 overall) Trey Kuhn III. A versatile lineman who is also seen as an ideal fit for the zone blocking scheme. Thus far, he has seen time at guard and tackle, which is exactly what the Raiders want from him right now. They would like him to be a utility backup, able to step up at any moment and see if he can earn the right to keep that job. All in the interest of finding the best player at each position rather than moving guys around to try and find the most competent combination of five.
Development
Hey, while we talk about offensive lineman the Raiders added in the third round of this year’s draft, it is important to remember the Raiders took two offensive linemen in last year’s draft. In back-to-back picks at 98 and 99 overall, the Raiders selected G Caleb Rogers and T Charles Grant.
As much as we like to forecast Day one and two rookies as starters, we all know the best work comes entering their second year. So, it’s important not to forget or discount the potential contributions of the likes of Rogers and Grant.
Rogers in particular has been the next man up at right guard behind Jackson Powers-Johnson. For one practice during minicamp, JPJ didn’t practice and Rogers stepped up with the first team. Rogers showed some flashes as a rookie in six starts and he will have every opportunity to earn a starting job this season as well.
Injury returns
While we’ve focused largely on the interior line so far, it was the tackle spots that had Geno Smith seeing ghosts. The biggest culprit was right tackle DJ Glaze. But the other tackle spot was not much better.
The issue at left tackle was primarily because Kolton Miller went down with injury in Week four and didn’t return. Losing your best offensive linemen is not ideal for any team. Taking over for him was veteran backup Stone Forsythe. And in his 13 starts, Forsythe gave up a team-leading 11 sacks. For comparison, Glaze gave up 10 sacks in 17 games.
Well, Miller will return this season, which figures to be a big upgrade as well. Probably the most important difference in the line from last season, at least on par with the coaching change.
Jackson Powers-Johnson also missed half of last season. While it remains to be seen how much of a bonus it would be for him to stay healthy, his injury last season undoubtedly contributed to what was already utter turmoil along the Raiders offensive interior last season.
Wrapping it up
So, while from the outside it may look like the Raiders are not in a much better situation on the offensive line than they were last season, a deeper dive shows otherwise. They have a new coaching staff and could potentially have new starters across the line from what they had much of last season. And it wouldn’t just be change for the sake of it. Those changes would presumably be upgrades.
In the end, the only position I might still have some legit concerns is right tackle where Glaze is still the starter despite struggling in each of his first two seasons. That being said, if you go back to the point about players having their biggest leaps in year two – and considering the tumult he faced last year – you can see why the new staff is giving him the opportunity to earn and keep the job.
Training camp will be the proving ground. But based on the above, I see plenty of possibilities that this line could be considerably better this season. Even, potentially, pretty good.