Are changes coming to the Raiders offensive line?
If you've watched Raiders football this year, then you know how bad the offensive line play has been.
Not only is Gardner Minshew being pressured and sacked more than any QB in the league, but the team's rushing attack is last in the NFL by a wide margin.
The rest of the stats are not too promising either:
It’s pretty wild when you look at how poor the #Raiders OL has been to start the season:
— Jesse Merrick (@JesseNews3LV) September 16, 2024
- Most sacks allowed (9)
- 5th lowest pass blocking efficiency (80.7)
- 8th most pressures allowed (23)
- 4 of their OL rank in the bottom 12 of the league in run blocking grades (per…
Surprisingly, in Week 2, Kolton Miller was once again the weakest link on the line.
In Week 1 he surrended 1.5 sacks to Khalil Mack and let him wreak havoc the entire game, and he gave up another 3.0 sacks against the Ravens defensive line in addition to three pressures.
The rest of the line did not fare well either:
#Raiders pass blocking vs BAL:
— Tristen Kuhn (@KuhnTristen) September 16, 2024
Kolton Miller: 3 sacks, 3 pressures (46 PBLK)
Andrus Peat: pressure (20 PBLK)
Cody Whitehair: 0 pressures (26 PBLK)
Andre James: pressure (46 PBLK)
Dylan Parham: pressure (46 PBLK)
Thayer Munford: 2 sacks, 2 pressures (46 PBLK)
Kolton Miller's 5…
Miller does not look healthy out there, and he is playing like he did during his rookie year when he was hurt. It may be best for the team to give him time to rest, and move some pieces around in the meantime.
Thayer Munford Jr. could move to LT and rookie DJ Glaze could fill in at RT in the interim, or veteran OL Andrus Peat could replace Miller at LT, like he has in the past in New Orleans.
Cody Whitehair and Peat were not necessarily the issue at LG on Sunday against Baltimore, but getting rookie G Jackson Powers-Johnson back and healthy besides a shaky LT may be all the team needs to establish an identity.
Right now, it's a miracle that the team is 1-1 given the lack of time Minshew has to throw, and the complete inability to run the football.
Shockingly enough, the Panthers waived OLB Eku Leota this week, despite the fact that he is leading the team in both sacks and TFL.
Also, Panthers Pro Bowl DT Derrick Brown suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1, so he will not face the Raiders in Week 3 either.
The Panthers defensive line is not tremendous, and now without its two key cogs, the Raiders offensive line should have a bounce back week. If they can't block these guys, they can't block anyone, and serious scrutiny will follow and changes will need to be made.