Oakland Raiders: Offensive line is still the key to unlocking the offense

The Oakland Raiders have brought in a bunch of skill players on the offensive side of the ball this offseason, but it will still come down to the offensive line.

What a busy offseason it has been for the Oakland Raiders over the last five months. They entered free agency looking like Swiss cheese with all the holes they had on the team to coming out with what feels like the jackpot. First it was Antonio Brown via trade, then Trent Brown, Tyrell Williams and oh so much more.

Fast forward to the NFL Draft in Nashville, where the Raiders complimented their stellar free agency pickups with an overall solid draft.

The bulk of the Raiders holes have been addressed in just five short months, which is encouraging to see that the front office and Jon Gruden have a sound plan laid out. The driving force of the plan was clear that they wanted to reload the offense to give their quarterback Derek Carr some threatening weapons.

Well they did more than enough as this is easily the most talent he’s ever been surrounded with. However, despite the reloaded offense the main key to unlocking it is still the offensive line.

It won’t matter who’s playing at wide receiver or what amazing play Jon Gruden has drawn up if the offensive line can’t maintain their blocks. Just looking back on games like against the Seattle Seahawks was a total nightmare. Derek Carr had no chance for any play to develop farther than five yards.

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It’s why his nickname “Checkdown Carr” was invalid. No quarterback can hope to take any sort of shot if the pass rush is already in his face by the time he drops back. That is why they brought in Trent Brown to anchor as the right offensive tackle. Assuming he’s able to lock down that side, that only leaves the glaring weak link in Kolton Miller on the left.

If defensive coordinators really want to generate a rush, then they’ll put their best pass rusher on Miller. Defenses are going to attack him a variety of ways and it’ll be offensive line coach Tom Cables job to help expedite his learning curve.

If he can stay healthy this season, then there should be no excuses for Miller and Cable this season as to why he can’t consistently pass block.

It’s not just Miller, who is really the main factor on the line, but the interior. Gabe Jackson had an average 2018 season, so he’ll be looking to bounce back into prominence this season. The next mystery is at left guard, which is an open spot right now.

No one is penciled in to take the reigns, so it’s really Denzelle Good’s job for the taking. It’s not like guard is a crucial spot because it can work as a plug and play position so long as the offensive line coach is good, which the jury’s out on that one.

Will this offensive line be able to create holes or consistent running lanes?

Last season they did a sufficient enough job seeing that Doug Martin was able to tally over 700 yards of rushing. Obviously, the main focal point of the offense will be the aerial game, so as huge as it would be to have a running game, the pass protection is priority number one.

There won’t be any excuses for Derek Carr in 2019, but if he’s seeing opposing players in his face again within three seconds of the snap constantly then there is really nothing he can do.

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If pass protection is a problem once again, then it’ll be on Gruden and Cable to figure out ways to buy Carr some time. That’s if Cable even makes it until the end of the season. As exciting as it’ll be to see Carr to Brown, the true key lies with the offensive line.

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