HENDERSON, Nev. — Raiders general manager John Spytek didn’t hesitate to try to improve the NFL’s worst offensive line, a unit that made life miserable last season for quarterback Geno Smith and running back Ashton Jeanty.
He snagged three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum out of Baltimore by handing him the richest contract ever for an interior offensive lineman.
His presence and the return of standout left tackle Kolton Miller, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury after just four games, was a much-needed boost.
So there is genuine hope in Las Vegas the line will be better, but how much is difficult to tell.
“I think last year there was a lot of moving pieces,” Miller said. “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.”
It’s difficult to imagine the line being worse than last season, ranking last in the NFL in allowing 64 sacks and averaging 77.5 yards rushing per game and 3.57 per carry.
PHOTOS: Raiders hope Linderbaum's addition and Miller's return to health boost ailing offensive line
Smith was constantly on the run and the now-New York Jet threw a league-high 17 interceptions.
Jeanty was coming off a second-place finish for the Heisman Trophy, and the sixth overall pick of last year’s draft was constantly met in the backfield. He still managed to rush for 975 yards, but his 1.6 yards per attempt before contact, according to Pro Football Reference, was third worst among backs with more than 100 rushes.
Thus it was not surprising that Spytek made improving the line among his highest priorities. He signed Linderbaum to a three-year, $81 million contract, with $60 million guaranteed.
Getting Miller back on the field and at full health was almost like picking up a second free agent.
“We’re building chemistry, seeing how everybody blocks and how they move,” Jeanty said. “So we’re all kind of building that right now and growing with each other, and then when the pads come on, it’ll be a lot easier.”
While two of the line spots are locked up, the other three are a little more uncertain, though third-year player DJ Glaze is the front-runner at right tackle.
Spencer Burford, who played the previous four seasons at San Francisco, was the first-team left guard in the first two days of training camp, and third-year pro Jackson Powers-Johnson held down the right side. But there is competition behind them with Caleb Rogers, Jordan Meredith and Atonio Mafi getting second-team work.
“We have a lot of talented players at that position, and they’ll make the decision for us,” coach Klint Kubiak said. “We’re going to coach them up and we also know that whoever (starts) in Week 1 doesn’t mean that’s the starter in Week 17. So we’re always developing and getting guys better throughout the entire training camp and throughout the whole season.”
Kubiak knows the line must show some improvement to give the offense a fighting chance, and the Raiders have some key pieces to show off beyond Jeanty.
Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins was brought in to not only lift the offense but act as a transition to expected future starter Fernando Mendoza, drafted first overall by Las Vegas in April.
The first five practices are not in pads, so judging the line’s performance at this point in camp is tricky.
“I think we’re still getting good work with hand placement and guys are having to ID things and target it properly,” Cousins said. “You also just have snap counts. You have urgency in and out of the huddle, you got conditioning, and you still have a pocket you got to work through. Sometimes the rush may not be as realistic without pads in both directions, but it still gives you something to work off of.”
The pads will go on soon enough and the line will have a better idea of where it stands.
“Guys 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,” Linderbaum said. “There are not many more reps until we’re going to be playing our first preseason game, so the more we can jell during that OTA period time and now camp is really critical and important.”
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