During the second week of OTAs the Las Vegas Raiders are trying what fans have been asking for over a year
The Las Vegas Raiders have a lot of young guys on the roster who need some run.
A main storyline for the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason was the need to fix the offensive line. They did that a bit by drafting Trey Zuhn in the third round. Last season, they drafted two offensive linemen. Zuhn, drafted as an interior lineman, was one of the keys showing Vegas didn’t think it needed any more tackles.
They have DJ Glaze at right tackle and Charles Grant, whom they drafted last year. However, Grant was often viewed as the left tackle of the future. Kolton Miller’s new contract would say otherwise. So, many pleaded the case for Grant to get some run at right tackle. He played only 48 total snaps on the offensive line last season, all at left tackle.
With Glaze’s woes during the losing season, fans wanted to see what they had in the rookie. Well, during the second week of OTAs, Kubiak put Grant at right tackle some. Now, he wasn’t with the starting unit, but he did get some run at right tackle. Right now, it feels like Glaze is still set to be the starter there, but there is still so much more offseason to go before that’s determined.
But we do know that Kubiak loves DJ Glaze.
Klint Kubiak views the right tackle position more positively than many
“Obviously, there is some stability at both tackle spots,” Kubiak told reporters at the NFL Combine. “You have some young picks in JPJ (Jackson Powers-Johnson) and Caleb (Rogers). It’s a work in progress, still learning all of the guys, still kind of catching up on last season with what they have done.
“What I do know is that we will have a clear teaching style. I’ve seen Rick Dennison get the best out of his guys. The main thing is getting them all playing together, and that comes with teaching our system. I do like the guys that we have.”
If Kubiak thinks there is stability at the offensive tackle position, he’s not going to want to change that, or why would he even bring that up as a positive to the position group? Stability means something is stable —not changing much. Adding a player worth starting would mean there is no longer stability.
That approach seems logical, given DJ Glaze’s promise. Yet he led the league last season with 54 blown blocks, 40 of them in pass protection, according to Sports Info Solutions. He was more reliable in the run game, though. Also, not every blown block falls on a single player; factors like stunts and blitzes complicate protection. Glaze had trouble in situations like that. His critical thinking wasn’t great when there appeared to be two blockers on his side of the offensive line.
The good thing is, everything he is bad at is fixable. Glaze has some decent power traits, and his footwork isn’t terrible. However, there are times when he doesn’t anchor well enough. His best trait may be getting out on the edge and blocking finesse edge rushers with a bit of bend. Overall, the Raiders had the fourth-most blown blocks last year.