Oakland Raiders line draws comparison to Dallas Cowboys

The Oakland Raiders offensive line has drawn comparisons to the Dallas Cowboys as ProFootballFocus asked which line is the best in the NFL in a recent column.

It is no secret that the Oakland Raiders offensive line is getting considerable hype after adding one of the league’s best guards in Kelechi Osemele while also managing to retain starting left tackle Donald Penn, but ProFootballFocus have added to the praise surrounding the trenches in Oakland by asking if general manager Reggie McKenzie has assembled the best line in the NFL.

In a recent article posted by the NFL analytics website, PFF compared the Raiders offensive line to the Dallas Cowboys in a breakdown that asked which offensive line is the best in the NFL. Debating if the Raiders offensive line should be considered the best in the NFL entering 2016 after adding Osemele to the fold.

ProFootballFocus compared each position across the Raiders and Cowboys offensive lines, ultimately determining that with the upgrade of Osemele that Oakland have the talent in place to take the crown of best offensive line in the NFL away from Dallas in 2016.

From PFF:

"AnalysisIt remains to be seen how Osemele gels with the rest of the Raiders’ offensive line, but if the team’s prior free-agent additions are any indication, then he should fare just fine. Three of Oakland’s four returning starters have been added through free agency, and have come together to play well.There’s no question that Dallas has three players at or near the top of their positions on the O-line, while the Raiders don’t quite match up in elite talent. However, the performance of the Raiders’ offensive line across the board is notably better, on average. As we know, a few successful run-blocks can be negated by one poor block at the point of attack, and many times pass protection is only as good as its weakest link.Dallas had the top line in both pass- and run-blocking in 2015, while Oakland ranked second and 12th, respectively. The Cowboys have been the best run-blocking unit for the past two years, and it will be difficult for the Raiders (or anyone else) to exceed that level of play. As for pass protection, the upgrade from Webb to Osemele may very well take the Raiders from a solid unit to the best in the league."

Massively hyped signings often fall flat once Sundays roll around, as the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins have found out the hard way in recent years, but with the Raiders solid 2015 effort in protecting Derek Carr everything appears to be trending up in the trenches in Oakland. With offensive line coach Mike Tice being one of the best in the league and the Raiders having the opportunity to potentially add one more talent in the draft, the hype surrounding this unit as one of the best in the NFL is certainly deserved praise.