Las Vegas Raiders offensive line has seen a noticeable difference already, and it has everything to do with Rick Dennison
The Las Vegas Raiders have a decent offensive line going for them, and Rick Dennison is doing things the right way.
The Las Vegas Raiders had the worst offensive line in the NFL last season, finishing dead last in both run blocking and pass protection. That kind of failure doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
Raiders fans and media members pointed to offensive line coaching as a primary problem throughout 2025, and reports from the building painted an ugly picture. Now, with a new offensive line coach in Rick Dennison and the addition of center Tyler Linderbaum, things already feel different at training camp.
Under former offensive line coach Brennan Carroll, Pete Carroll’s son, the Raiders’ offensive line was a disaster. Reports and rumors surfaced that the coaching was so poor that players essentially ran things themselves during practice. Outside of practice, the linemen met up on their own for workouts because they weren’t getting what they needed from their position coach. That reflected on the field in the worst possible way.
Rick Dennison is already earning the respect of his players
The Raiders brought back nearly the same offensive line unit this season. They added Linderbaum, a top 2-3 center in the league, but the biggest change may be the man coaching the group. Charles Grant spoke about offensive line coach Rick Dennison recently at training camp.
“He has a lot of wisdom that I’m trying to get. He’s thinking on levels that I’m not thinking yet, so just being able to be in the same room gets me thinking at a higher level,” Grant said.
That kind of praise simply did not exist last year. Not once did Raiders offensive linemen publicly speak about Carroll’s coaching in that way. Everyone loved Pete Carroll, and nobody is saying Carroll is a bad person, but nobody praised his coaching of the offensive line either. The hire always came off as Pete Carroll getting his son on the staff, and the product on the field reflected that.
Having a seasoned offensive line coach like Dennison changes the dynamic entirely. The players are talking about him differently. The other coaches are talking about him differently. It feels different.
Why the offensive line is the most important unit on the 2026 Raiders roster
The offensive line will be the biggest part of this Las Vegas team in 2026 for multiple reasons. First, the Raiders have to protect the quarterback, whether it’s Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza. You can’t win games without protecting the passer. If Mendoza, the potential future franchise quarterback, is the guy out there as a rookie, a solid offensive line becomes even more critical.
Second, the Raiders could have one of the best running back duos in the league. Washington and Jeanty can be a top 5-10 running back combination, and Mike Washington Jr. has already shown he can be one of the best backup running backs in the NFL. But none of that matters if the offensive line can’t block.
There is still one position battle playing out on the offensive line. Jackson Powers-Johnson got the starting reps in the Raiders’ first preseason game, but he left practice early on Monday with a trainer. Caleb Rogers, heading into his second year, is a player Las Vegas still really likes, and he’s competing for that spot.
Dennison has his work cut out for him with this group. But so far, that work may not be as difficult as anyone originally thought. Maybe the coaching staff last year was just that bad when it came to developing the offensive line. Hearing players talk about Dennison the way they are is a breath of fresh air for the Raiders. Hopefully the offensive line reflects that on the field in 2026. We will see on Thursday against the Houston Texans if it’s the same thing we saw last week.
