For the next two or three weeks, most of the NFL is on vacation. The summer has officially kicked off and players won’t have to report to camp until the end of this month.
But what should the front office and the fans be the most concerned about before we get to training camp? Well, it’s probably the state of the offensive line.
In a recent article by The Athletic, they asked each of their beat writers to name the biggest concern for their teams entering the summer. For the Raiders, it was the lack of big upgrades along the offensive line. Here is what Tashan Reed had to say about the unit before camp starts:
“The only significant addition the Raiders have made to the group this offseason has been drafting Dylan Parham. The projected starting unit is Kolton Miller at left tackle, John Simpson at left guard, Andre James at center, Denzelle Good at right guard and Alex Leatherwood at right tackle.
Miller played well last season, but Good suffered a torn ACL in Week 1 and Simpson, James and Leatherwood all had their struggles. Barring a signing, the Raiders will rely on the improvement of young players for the overall group to take a step forward.”
As Reed mentioned, the Raiders are very hopeful that a number of their young players can step up. That’s probably a big reason why they didn’t make any significant changes to the unit this offseason.
Still, this is an offensive line group that doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence entering the season. But if they can gel quickly and they can get competent play at right tackle, the Raiders could have one of the best offenses in the entire NFL.