Returning Raiders that must improve for the team to flourish in 2022
By Nick Bailey
Returning Raiders that must improve for the team to flourish in 2022
Alex Leatherwood and Brandon Parker
Raiders fans had known for a while if the team had to rely on Brandon Parker to be the full-time right tackle, Derek Carr would be in trouble. Last season, he was forced into the starting lineup due to Alex Leatherwood’s inconsistent play, and the results were subpar.
Both Leatherwood and Parker’s struggles came mostly from penalties. Alex Leatherwood was called for 13 accepted penalties seven of them false starts and offensive holding and also gave up eight sacks on Carr. Parker had ten accepted penalties six of them being false starts and four offensive holdings and allowed seven sacks last season.
The Las Vegas Raiders really did a ton of work to improve almost every aspect of their roster except for the offensive line, as they essentially brought back the same group. New head coach Josh McDaniels and new offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo must see something on film that they must like in Parker and Leatherwood as both will have the opportunity to compete for the right tackle position.
One positive about Leatherwood is how much he played his rookie season, but nonetheless, whether it’s a combination of Leatherwood/Parker, Good/Parker, or Eluemunor/Leatherwood the right side of the offensive line needs to improve and it needs to improve immediately.