Oakland Raiders Free Agency Preview: Five Must Sign Players
By Austin Gayle
Kelechi Osemele
Despite early rumors that Baltimore was making an effort to resign Osemele earlier in the offseason, it’s become clear that he will test the open market. With Oakland having obvious needs at both left tackle and the right guard position, a versatile offensive lineman like Osemele almost makes to much sense for the Raiders in 2016.
Osemele, 26, is a proven run blocker that has also excelled in pass protection when asked to play in a phone booth at the guard position. Though he has also played well outside at left tackle, he still best projects as an elite guard in the NFL. Either way, Osemele would be an immediate improvement at either position for Oakland, which is an obvious reason why he is drawing a significant amount of interest from multiple teams in the NFL.
According to PFF.com, Osemele graded out as the second-best run blocking offensive tackle in 2015.
Ideally, Oakland will resign Donald Penn to a short-term deal before free agency kicks off, which would allow them to plug Osemele in at right guard to replace J’Marcus Webb. Osemele would then serve as an above average replacement for Penn if he goes down or his level of play decreases significantly in 2016, or if Penn proves that he can still play at a high level, Oakland could keep Osemele at guard in 2016 and wait to kick him outside the following year.
Given that Osemele is being considered a top-tier left tackle in free agency, his market value is projected to reach nearly $10 million annually.
Next: Five Must Sign Free Agents