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Quiet as kept the Raiders unearthed a franchise caliber left tackle in Jared Vedlheer back in the third round of 2010 draft. The 6’8” sleeper from DIII Hillsdale College overcame an awkward transition to the pros as Tom Cable attempted to convert the lifelong tackle into a center.

Luckily for the Raiders Mario Henderson played poorly enough that the coaches were left with almost no choice but to give Veldheer the opportunity to play left tackle. He hasn’t played anywhere else since and the Raiders finally have the man in Veldheer that they hoped to get in Robert Gallery.

In his two seasons in Oakland Veldheer has shown progress in almost every game he’s played. Despite his huge frame Veldheer struggled when blocking stronger defenders as a rookie. So he took it upon himself to increase his strength during the lockout ruined offseason in 2011 and the results showed on the field.

Going forward all that remains is for Veldheer to get even more consistent than he already is. That is the quality that makes good pros great.

Of course the greatest quality of all Veldheer possesses is durability, a trait that is highly valued among offensive linemen. He has yet to miss a game in two seasons and rarely misses snaps during those games.

While he might not yet have the notoriety Veldheer’s star is definitely on the rise. Another year of solid play combined with a career year from Darren McFadden will bring plenty of attention of Veldheer and the rest of the Raiders’ line. I’d be willing to bet that we’re only a year or two away from seeing Veldheer and Stefen Wisniewski representing the silver and black in Hawaii.

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What is most interesting is that Williamson has Veldeheer as the second best left tackle in the division behind only Denver’s Ryan Clady based largely on the larger- than-life tackle’s massive potential.

It goes without saying that Veldheer has quietly morphed into one of the best and most durable young linemen in the game. He’s flown under the radar on the national scale but Veldheer’s performance hasn’t been lost on Raider Nation. Not after suffering through the Robert Gallery/Kwame Harris/Mario Henderson years.

What is truly telling of Veldheer’s value is how seamlessly he went from tackle to center and back to tackle again. Not sure how many rookies could have gone through the culture shock Veldheer did when the Raiders tried to play him out of position for his first taste of the NFL.

Again, these types of ranking mean nothing. It’s one person’s opinion and it’s a topic you won’t get a ton of discussion out of anyway. Can’t tell you the last time I was a bar polishing off a cold IPA when a fight broke out over who the second best lineman is in the AFC West. None the less it is nice to know Veldheer is slowly getting his due.

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Mario Henderson is to the Raiders what Billy Bob Thornton is to Angelia Jolie. Both the Raiders and Mrs. Pitt must look back and think…what the hell was that all about?

I can’t believe I actually thought Henderson had franchise potential at left tackle. Then again, with the way every man not name Jared Veldheer has played LT for the Raiders in recent years it was easy to fall for Henderson. He was a massive lineman with freakish athletic ability that played lights out for four games in 2008. Come to think of it JaMarcus Russell actually looked like an NFL quarterback for that same stretch of games too…

Problem was for both Russell and Henderson that would be the beginning of the end.

Henderson hired super sleazy agent Drew Rosenhaus then promptly never played anywhere near the level he did in ’08. By 2010 Henderson lost out at both left and right tackle and then by 2011 he was out of the NFL. A similar path was taken out of the league by Russell.

The lockout was the worst thing that could have happened to Henderson. He was arrested but his biggest crime was not even trying to stay in shape. Rumor was the Raiders wanted him back until he tipped the scales at over 400lbs.

So Henderson joined JaMarcus in the fulltime Madden league. The man Raider Nation once referred to as Super Mario was out of football for a year until the San Diego Chargers signed him today.

I guess you could say Henderson is barely back in football since playing tackle for the Chargers is one step to retirement or exile these days. At least Henderson did enough to get back into the game. Russell on the other hand…yeah…still waiting for that comeback story to get off the couch.