5 Oakland Raiders to watch vs. Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16

With left tackle Donald Penn now out for the year after suffering a foot injury on Sunday Night Football, the last two weeks are a big opportunity for the Raiders to evaluate the depth along their offensive line. Thrust in to duty will be Vadal Alexander, Oakland’s new right tackle for the next two weeks.

The Raiders drafted Alexander out of LSU in the hopes he’d be a serviceable interior offensive lineman like he was in college. Instead, he has proven to be a more valuable asset than expected as the team’s third offensive tackle. His super-sub skills were first on display during Raiders training camp up in Napa this summer.

This all came about due to Penn’s highly publicized holdout during training camp. He missed all of it and wouldn’t return to the team until the Raiders got back to Alameda before the third preseason game against the Cowboys. All that did was get Alexander reps at right tackle playing across from superstar defensive end Khalil Mack. One would like to think that Alexander got betters as a football player because of it.

In the last two weeks, Alexander will have to contain veteran pass rusher Chris Long and that dynamic Los Angeles Chargers duo of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram. It’s a big spot for Alexander down the stretch, but he definitely has his opportunity to turn some heads with great play at right tackle to close out the regular season.