The Raiders Are Cautiously Optimistic About This Position Group

Following training camp, Raiders Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly gave an update on the progress the offensive line has made.

"Pads. I'll go back to that one. A lot of guys I've seen, guys look great, and then all of a sudden you put the pads on and I'm like, 'Where did he go?' Well, he's still here, but you just don't notice him as much anymore. But to have versatility, I think that's a real big deal," Kelly said.

"Jordan [Meredith] can play both center and guard. JPJ [Jackson Powers-Johnson] can play both center and guard. Thayer [Munford Jr.] has played guard and can play tackle. Can he swing? I think bringing in Alex Cappa was a great maneuver, because it really adds a veteran that's played multiple positions.

Kelly has many aspects to his offensive scheme that he must properly teach the offense, with the offensive line being a primary focus. He explained how critical it will be for the offensive linemen to be versatile. The Raiders have multiple offensive linemen who can play more than one position.

"So we're going to try to sort that out. The one thing about the NFL that's so much different than college is gameday. You're going to have either seven or eight guys up on gameday. So whoever the five starters are, that's great. Those other three guys, you don't have 10, so you don't have a backup left tackle, backup right tackle, backup right guard, backup left guard, backup center," Kelly said.

"You got three guys, and they got to be able to go in no matter who goes down. So if you lose two tackles, then two of those backups are technically going to go play tackle now, and the more versatile those other guys are, the better it's going to be for your depth, especially in-game." 

Following training camp, Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll shared a similar sentiment when asked about the offensive line.

"Well, both guys, as the question came up about the pads, we can't tell now. We can tell they know their assignments. We can tell they know their footwork and their steps; they're making their calls. But until we start knocking each other around, we won't really know. We need to feel their power. But they've done just positive things so far, so we're in good shape going into the padded days," Carroll said. 

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