Las Vegas Raiders 2020 post-draft position review: Offensive Line

The Las Vegas Raiders offensive line is going to be a strength in 2020, as they return all five starters from the 2019 team.

As the Raiders franchise moves from Oakland to Las Vegas, their entire starting offensive line is coming with them, something that was cemented when Gabe Jackson‘s contract became guaranteed. All offseason, it appeared the Raiders could move on from Jackson, but with him returning, the starting five in front of Derek Carr is back for another go.

Looking back at the 2019 season

The Raiders added two key components along their offensive line last offseason, signing both Richie Incognito and Trent Brown in free agency. Incognito had been out of the league since 2017, and there were a ton of questions about his character, but he ended up fitting in nicely with the Raiders, and actually played at a Pro Bowl level.

Brown was actually a Pro Bowler, as he re-established himself as a premier right tackle after spending the 2018 season as the left tackle in New England. His fellow tackle, Kolton Miller, took a big step forward in Year 2, while Rodney Hudson continued to show he is the gold standard at the center position in the league.

As a group, the starting five helped pave the way for running back Josh Jacobs to become the franchise’s first 1,000-yard back as a rookie, and also helped Carr set a career-high in passing yards while completing 70 percent of his passes.

Another major step in the right direction was the fact that they kept Carr much cleaner in 2019, as he was only sacked 29 times compared to a gaudy 51 times the year before. Carr had outstanding deep threat weapons heading into 2020, and the fact that his offensive line is back as a whole bodes well for what he should be able to do in the pocket in Year 7.