Raiders: All eyes are on Carmen Bricillo and the offensive line

The Raiders’ offensive line is definitely an area of concern for the production of this new offense, Can Carmen Bricillo have his starting five hit their ceiling sooner rather than later?

This Las Vegas Raiders offensive line has to produce for this offense to hit on all cylinders come Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers have an elite pass rush duo in Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack, so they are going to be tested right out of the gate.

Against the Minnesota Vikings, we saw the Raiders allow a ton of pressure, and that cannot be the case once the regular season kicks off. Sure, seeing Nick Mullens and Jarrett Stidham try to avoid the rush is fine in the preseason, but Derek Carr being under center is a whole new ballgame.

This offseason, Las Vegas brought in Davante Adams as their true WR1, but if Carr does not get the protection he needs, good luck with plays developing long enough to utilize his good buddy down the field.

What the Raiders OL could look like in Week 1

Alex Leatherwood is going into Year 2 and needs to improve big time as the Raiders are pretty thin depth-wise at offensive tackle. Carmen Bricillo is coming from the New England Patriots as the offensive line coach last year, and with New England, he helped the team finish 8th in rush yards per game and sixth in point per game.

During that span, running back Damien Harris set career highs with 202 carries for 929 yards along with 15 touchdowns. This should sound promising for not only the offensive line but for Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake.

If he continues to perform, rookie Dylan Parham has a legitimate shot to start at one of the guard positions, but John Simpson and Lester Cotton Sr. are the front-runners right now. Andre James returns at center, and Kolton Miller is an elite left tackle, but right tackle is still an issue.

For Bricillo to have success, he needs Leatherwood to step up in a big way in 2022, but seeing Thayer Munford start at right tackle on Sunday was not a good sign for the former first-round pick. It seems Las Vegas is trying to get a look at everyone other than Leatherwood, so his spot is not locked in by any means.

Raiders 2022 preseason: Players whose stock increased vs Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings came to down to face the Raiders at home. While many performed well, some Raiders were on a level of their own. Whose stock increased?

If the offensive line does their job, the Raiders will have one of the more potent offensive attacks in the NFL, but if they falter like they did last year, it could be a long season.