Part of the effort to refurbish the Las Vegas Raiders' offensive line this offseason was sure to include a notable investment in a player early in the 2026 NFL Draft. In the third round, with the 91st overall pick, they selected Texas A&M's Trey Zuhn III, who is a true chess piece up front.
Zuhn spent most of his college career at left tackle, but his NFL future is likely to be elsewhere. And when we say elsewhere, almost everywhere else along the offensive line feels like a real possibility for the young player.
The center position is spoken for in Las Vegas with Tyler Linderbaum in town for the foreseeable future. But Zuhn can function as a backup option there, with a potential future path to start at either guard spot or possibly even right tackle.
During OTAs, Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak made it clear that Zuhn's versatility would be explored to its fullest extent.
"Really drafted Trey to be able to play a lot of positions," Kubiak said. "So, whether it's tackle, guard, center, he's learning it all. He's got everything between the ears to do that, and so we're going to give him a chance to help us on all areas of the line."
Using Zuhn all over the offensive line when pads and contact aren't allowed is one thing. If it came to fruition when training camp arrived, then it might actually be something. And it sounds like Las Vegas is doing just that with its rookie big man.
Las Vegas Raiders are following through on their plan with Trey Zuhn III
Raider Nation is way too used to coaches saying things that don't ultimately mean anything when it counts. So it's a reflex to be skeptical when Kubiak says something about someone's playing time, role or usage at this early stage of his tenure.
That past narrative seems to be shifting, though, with Zuhn as one example.
After Day 2 and Day 3 of training camp practice, ESPN's Ryan McFadden was sure to note how Zuhn was seeing work at both center and right guard with the second and/or third-team offense.
Following a day off on Saturday, the Raiders were back at it on Sunday. Sam Warren of The Athletic noted how Zuhn worked exclusively as the second-team right tackle during the final non-padded practice session.
Offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko took things toward the development angle when it comes to Zuhn's versatility being fully deployed in camp.
"I think we ask a lot of our guys. We ask our guys to be versatile; we ask our guys to play
multiple spots," Janocko said. "I think Coach [Kubiak] talked about it yesterday that we want guys that can play multiple spots and fit in, so as far as that's concerned, we want to ask him to do different things, and then as the dust settles, then settle them into certain roles. But right now, just asking these guys to do a bunch of different things and develop their skills."
Where things will go with Zuhn's role in training camp when padded sessions start is unclear. Layered into that is how legitimately he'll be allowed to compete for a starting job, whatever spot that might be at. At the same time, it feels like he'll get a chance to earn an immediate starting job somewhere.
All the unknown seems to be part of the point. The Raiders' coaching staff is simply following through on the idea that Zuhn will not be pigeonholed to one position right now, with no preconceived notions or anything being orchestrated in an inauthentic way.
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