The Las Vegas Raiders entered the 2026 season with the offensive line as a major wild card. That’s largely because Las Vegas had one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines last season. The Raiders couldn’t protect the pass, couldn’t run block, and couldn’t do much up front.

Some of that was personnel, and some of it was coaching. We all know the story about Pete Carroll’s son coaching the offensive line. The Raiders tried to fix that this offseason. They spent a huge amount of money on center Tyler Linderbaum to make him the highest-paid center in football, and rightfully so. He’s really good. They also added guard Spencer Burford, a career backup with the San Francisco 49ers, and drafted Trey Zuhn.

However, there is still a long way to go. This offensive line is better than last year’s group, no doubt. But it still isn’t playing at a high enough level week in and week out.

The Patriots exposed the Raiders’ pass protection

ESPN’s Ryan McFadden posted a stat after the game against the New England Patriots that tells the whole story:

The Patriots pressured Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins on 12 of his 31 dropbacks, a 39% pressure rate, the second-highest rate he’s faced this season. He completed 2 passes and was sacked four times.

After the game, Cousins said, “They did a nice job with their pressures and getting home quickly.”

That’s true. New England did a good job with its pressures and its blitzes. But from watching at home, I don’t think the Patriots did much to disguise their blitzes. Every time they blitzed, it looked like they were going to blitz. That’s something the Raiders need to be more aware of. To be fair, the coaching staff knows far more about that than I do, but this line is struggling.

Early in the season, the pass blocking looked fine while the run blocking needed work. Now both aspects are starting to slip. That’s a big problem for this offense, because Cousins isn’t a mobile quarterback.

Fernando Mendoza got out and ran a bit when he came in, but Cousins is still the starter. He can’t run for his life like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, or Josh Allen.

Where every spot on the line stands

The guard spots are the biggest concern. Burford has not been great. Jackson Powers-Johnson has had some excellent moments. The highs are high, and the lows are low. – Caleb Rogers: He was okay in the previous game, but a false start really hurt Las Vegas. – DJ Glaze: He has looked good in pass protection and OK in the run game. – Kolton Miller: He has had a lot of missed opportunities up front. You’d expect him to be one of the linemen the Raiders can count on most, and he hasn’t looked his best. – Linderbaum: He has been really good.

Beyond Linderbaum, the team needs improvement everywhere.

Raiders could head into another offseason focused on the trenches

This coaching staff, especially offensive line coach Rick Dennison, will put this group in a better position to succeed than we saw last season. That should count for something. Still, the issues keep showing up. If the line doesn’t improve as the season goes on, the Raiders will make it a priority this offseason, starting at guard. Either way, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Las Vegas might be heading into another offseason with the offensive line at the top of its list.