The Las Vegas Raiders had an offensive line last year when it came to getting the ground game going - which was surprising considering what they did the year before with Josh Jacobs. That may very well be the biggest reason the Raiders decided not to bring Greg Van Roten and Alex Bars back but instead add Cody Whitehair, who played for Luke Getsy with the Chicago Bears.
Last season, they also had an injury issue at times with their offensive line. They didn't have a lot of injured players, but really only one. There is just one issue—it was their best offensive lineman, Kolton Miller, who is one of the best offensive tackles in the league. When that happened, the Raiders experimented with throwing Jermaine Eluemunor in on the left side and Thayer Munford playing right tackle.
The Raiders also played many jumbo formations, with Thayer Munford as the swing tackle. That could happen again in 2024 but with different personnel. They may not have Eluemunor anymore, but they drafted someone who can play the swing tackle or even fill in at the right or left tackle spots if he needs to. Or, he may just be a full-time starter.
"The big thing is versatility," third-round pick Delmar Glaze said in his introductory press conference. "So, being able to play multiple positions is something that I feel helps. In the Zoom meeting, just being able to show them my football IQ, show them I can recall things easily, show them I know kind of the structure of things, and I know what's going on. And so, I think those are some of the big things with the football IQ and the position flexibility."
Glaze played at Maryland, where he had a 2.8% quarterback pressure percentage allowed since 2021, which was 7th among draft-eligible Tackles, per Pro Football Focus. Glaze also had an 87.1 pass block grade since 2022, which is 4th among draft-eligible offensive tackles. So, while a lot of people didn't know the name when it was announced as the Raiders' third-round draft pick in 2024, he is a baller.
There isn't much the kid can't do, including play both tackle positions.
"No, I don't really have a specific position," Glaze continued. "I feel like, for me, the main thing is being able to be comfortable anywhere. I played left tackle last year at Maryland, so that's kind of what I'm most recent at. But, I mean, being able to come in and just being able to play guard, being able to play tackle and be comfortable at it, that's the biggest thing for me. So, I mean, I'm comfortable anywhere they plug me. Like I said, I played a lot of tackle; that's kind of where I have the most recent experience, but I can go anywhere."
The Raiders wanted to build up the trenches under this new regime and play bully ball. A lot of that will be with the offensive line. Both Jackson Powers-Johnson and Glaze are going to be huge contributors to that.
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