Raiders experience along Offensive Line will be the difference Sunday
By Brad Weiss
The Carolina Panthers have young, solid pass rushers up front, and the Las Vegas Raiders experienced Offensive Line could be the difference on Sunday.
The Las Vegas Raiders open up their 2020 slate on the road against the Carolina Panthers, and the hope is that they get get their season off on the right foot. Last year, the team played host to division rival Denver in primetime, and Raider Nation got their first glimpse of how dominant running back Josh Jacobs could be.
Another thing that stood out on that Monday night matchup was the play of the Raiders offensive line. Second-year left tackle Kolton Miller really came into his own, and teaming with Trent Brown on the right side, they were able to handle a dominant pass rush, led by Bradley Chubb and Von Miller.
Sunday, the hope is that the Raiders experienced offensive line can be the difference once again.
Panthers used early round picks to bolster their defensive line
Over the past two drafts, the Panthers have used some early round picks to really bolster their defensive line. During the 2019 NFL Draft, the team selected Florida State edge rusher Brian Burns in the first round, and as a rookie last season, he started five games, appeared in all 16, and racked up 7.5 sacks.
In fact, as a team, the Panthers were one of the best in the game at getting after the quarterback.
This year, the team used both a first and second round pick on the defensive line, adding Auburn’s Derrick Brown in the first round, and then Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos in the second. Brown was widely considered one of the better defensive tackles in the draft class, and many teams had a first round grade on Yetur-Gross Matos.
Overall, the team made a heavy investment in the defensive line, and a lot of their success in 2020 will be dependent in how fast the younger guys can get used to the pro game.