Football is won in the trenches up front.
The 3-14 Las Vegas Raiders were given a firm reminder of that during the 2025 NFL season.
Under Brennan Carroll, the Silver and Black gave up more sacks than any other unit in the league, and they more than did their part to ensure a 32nd-ranked rushing attack for the second straight season. Bad injury luck, poor coaching and inexplicable personnel decisions contributed in equal measure.
But with Klint Kubiak and Andrew Janocko running the offense, Rick "Rico" Dennison in charge of the offensive line group, and several personnel upgrades, there has been plenty of hope for this group to take a rather large step in the right direction during the 2026 NFL season.
And through just a handful of padded training camp practices, it sounds like the unit is doing just that. Raider Nation didn't get anything resembling these kinds of reports at this time last year, so the unit is already ahead of schedule in Las Vegas in the early going.
That's probably because they didn't have Dennison or $81 million center Tyler Linderbaum back then.
Las Vegas Raiders' offensive line sounds much-improved at training camp
Although according to Dennison, the starting five isn't officially set yet, the first-team has exclusively comprised of Kolton Miller, Spencer Burford, Linderbaum, Jackson Powers-Johnson and DJ Glaze, from left to right. And it was tough to evaluate this group without the pads on, as always.
Once the live action started, though, this unit showed plenty of signs of improvement. In a simple, overarching sense, The Athletic's Sam Warren had the following report after the first day of padded practices at Raiders HQ.
"In the first real test of growth, Las Vegas’ offensive line received a passing score. It held up well for the most part against the pass rush, creating solid pockets for Kirk Cousins. And the line produced solid gaps for Jeanty to run through; those were few and far between during his rookie season."
Now, the lone exception to this seemed to be Glaze, who drew negative reviews early in training camp. But it sounds like he had a major bounce-back day on Tuesday before Las Vegas was idle on Wednesday, so Glaze may be building some momentum headed into Week 2 of camp.
It should also be noted that Kubiak's scheme isn't easy to learn or install. It took the Seattle Seahawks weeks and weeks last season before it all started to flow seamlessly. But Warren believes that everything is coming together just fine under the first-year head coach thus far in camp.
"Both the front and Jeanty looked better adjusted to head coach Klint Kubiak’s zone rushing scheme than the disjointed system then-offensive coordinator Chip Kelly installed last year. Gaps were forming organically, and Jeanty was patient, waiting for them to develop before bursting through."
Of course, this unit still took its lumps. Maxx Crosby is making life difficult for Glaze and Miller, and Tonka Hemingway is even wreaking some havoc. Sacks and tackles for losses haven't necessarily been abnormal, but they don't seem to be as commonplace as they were a year ago.
Raiders' additions of Rick Dennison and Tyler Linderbaum are paying off
A lot of this, of course, has to do with the key additions of Linderbaum and Dennison and the return of a healthy Miller and Powers-Johnson. But even Miller knows the kind of stud that the Silver and Black have in their midst with Linderbaum manning the middle and being the chief communicator.
"It's great," Miller told reporters. "I wish we could have five of [Linderbaum], that would be freaking awesome. But when we go to team, we get the call point, and we're just able to go. That's what Coach [Klint] Kubiak wants us to do. He's emphasizing us running the ball, coming off together as a group. So, we're doing that, and [Linderbaum is] really taking charge.”
Linderbaum isn't just catching the eye of his fellow offensive linemen, though. He has made quite an impression on new offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko, who referred to Linderbaum as an elite communicator. And Kirk Cousins has raved about his new center as well.
"Yeah he's got to be the leader of that room, that group, and he will be. I think he's a great person and player. Another person, when I talk about our locker room that I really like, is Tyler Linderbaum, and the way he goes about his business. So, a lot of trust there for me with him snapping the ball and all that he has to handle. And it's a lot of pressure off of a quarterback when you feel like your center is going to handle a lot of the IDs. He's going to communicate well to you and to everybody else. He's going to kind of set the tempo as they go in and out of the huddle and get things identified and targeted. So, feel really good about Tyler."
Even Dennison, who has been around the block a time or two in the NFL, has noticed what an impact Linderbaum is making in Las Vegas.
"I don't think anybody won't benefit from Tyler," Dennison told the media. "I mean, I think he's done a really good job. He's athletic, and again, he leads. He does all the drills. But I think everybody on there has worked their tail off, right? I really do. I think they came in with a great attitude. We're going to do the best we can, we're going to improve and get better every day, and you can see him strive for it right there."
Las Vegas' new center is also enjoying his new teammates and soaking up the change of scenery. The Pro Bowl center understands the importance of this time of year, which makes it all the more exciting that Raiders fans are reading reports of an improved group.
"It's a great group, hard-working group," Linderbaum said to the media. "Guys that come in the building each and every day and want to improve, and that's all you can ask for out of an offensive unit. There are not many more reps until we're going to be playing our first preseason game, so the more we can gel during that OTA period time and now [Training] Camp is really critical and important. And each rep that we get is going to be really valuable.”
Dennison is also at the heart of this improvement, though. The ever-qualified coach brings experience and know-how to this group that has been missing for as long as most Raiders fans can remember. Linderbaum wasn't shy about pointing that out during his media session.
"I've been fortunate to be around a lot of great o-line coaches, and I think Coach Rico is another great one," Linderbaum said. "Just the way he carries himself and teaches. Big teacher for the game, and he's been around the game for a long time. So, anything that you take from him is valuable. At the end of the day, he lets us go out there and play our style of football, which I appreciate.”
Fortunately, it isn't just the offensive line feeling good about itself and noticing what Dennison has done with this group. Defensive linemen Jonah Laulu and Thomas Booker IV both noted in their press conferences how much better this offensive line is that they're facing, and that iron sharpens iron.
Las Vegas' mere grasp of the outside zone scheme and the simple fact that they are competing hard with the Raiders' defensive line is proof that Dennison has already done more for this group in one offseason than Brennan Carroll did with them in one disjointed year.
And during his media availability, Dennison subtly, albeit accidentally, leaked a bit of information that shows how well this group is coming along.
"I was just talking to Richie [Incognito], I had Richie in Buffalo, and he said, 'Man, those guys are working hard for you.' So, good guys," Dennison said.
If Richie Incognito sees improvement and effort up front, perhaps we all should. But ultimately, it comes down to what Miller said earlier in the week about whether this Raiders offensive line wants to reach new heights and propel this offense into good or great territory.
"I think there's a standard. I think last year there was a lot of moving pieces. There's a lot of change. I think the goal is to have the best five out there, build together, add to it each day, and really build for long-term success. This isn't easy. Coaching o-line takes time and it's a lot of work. It's underappreciated. You can't get too frustrated about it. You've just got to find ways to improve each day."
By all accounts, the Raiders are doing just that. And a lot of that can be attributed to big moves made for Linderbaum and Dennison, who are the connectors that this group so badly needed.
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