Around this time a year ago, there were signs that the Las Vegas Raiders' offensive line was going to be an unwelcome storyline. Undeserving players were anointed as starters, while some were inexplicably moved to positions they had hardly played in their football careers.
Others were singled out to compete for a starting job that should've easily been theirs. Former head coach Pete Carroll clearly empowered his ultimately underqualified son to construct the offensive line as he saw fit, while backing up those decisions at every turn.
The result was Geno Smith being the most sacked quarterback in the league, despite missing two games, while Ashton Jeanty had an inexplicably putrid yards before contact mark on the ground, leading to a league-worst rushing attack in 2026.
Carroll, of course, proceeded to blame John Spytek for the failures of the offensive line after the fact, as if there weren't enough resources devoted to improving the group. Apparently, an extension for Kolton Miller, signing veteran guard Alex Cappa, and using two third-round picks were not enough.
Surely, Carroll saw the big contract that the Raiders gave center Tyler Linderbaum this offseason, and he probably thought to himself, "If only they had done something like that for me..."
Raiders offensive coordinator reveals early signs the OL will be a lot better
It is fair to assume, with some players moving to unfamiliar positions and everything else, that the Raiders' offensive line room was a tense place from the start of OTAs all the way through to Week 18 last year. And it showed on the field with their lack of cohesion or answers.
Besides now having a credible position coach, with legend Rick Dennison coming aboard on Klint Kubiak's staff, things should naturally be a lot looser this year. The talent upgrades are also stark, but it's more than that in Las Vegas.
New offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko recently had a wide-ranging conversation with Raiders.com's Paul Gutierrez. Gutierrez, in clear reference to the disaster that was last year, asked how the offensive line is coming along at this early stage.
"I think it's a highly competitive group," Janocko said. "When you walk in there in the mornings, they're going to meetings, those guys are in there early, they're studying. Even though we can't meet with them early ... as I walk past to start my meeting, they've already been in there grinding for a while.
"So you like to go in, crack a couple jokes with the guys, and that's always one of the best rooms to walk into. ... They're in there grinding, that's really cool to see... (it's) really something. The new guys, and the guys who have been here, taking leadership roles, everybody taking different forms of leadership roles, (to) try to get this going."
Players already taking early leadership of the offensive line room, and a coach recognizing when the grind might need a little break for humor.
Those two things surely didn't happen last year, as the Carrolls set a tense tone with that group from Day 1. The results can only be better this year, but Janocko's insight shows the foundation for that to happen is already being built.
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