Getty Josh McDaniels shaking hands with Bill Belichick.
Throughout the entirety of the offseason and early parts of the regular season, the Las Vegas Raiders have been urged to address their offensive line. They’ve made small moves here and there but nothing significant. While the team has still yet to add a notable name, they have added a player who is familiar with head coach Josh McDaniels.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the New England Patriots are trading offensive tackle Justin Herron to the Raiders for a 2024 pick swap.
Herron was a sixth-round pick of the Patriots in 2020 and has mostly served as a reserve tackle for the team. Over the past two seasons, he’s played in 28 games but only started in 10 of them. The Raiders coaching staff will be very familiar with Herron’s ability as offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo was working directly with him the past two seasons.
Herron was a standout at Wake Forest and was named Third-team All-ACC in 2019. The Patriots must like what they have at tackle to let him go in the middle of the season. Bill Belichick could also be doing his former subordinates a solid by sending them a tackle right now.
The exact terms are that the Patriots get a 2024 sixth-round pick and send over a 2024 seventh-round pick along with Herron, per Mike Reiss.
Trade terms: The Patriots will receive a 2024 sixth-round pick from the Raiders for Justin Herron and a 2024 seventh-round pick, per source.
What Will Herron’s Role Be With Raiders?
After two games, the Raiders have to be wishing that Denzelle Good didn’t retire in the middle of training camp and Brandon Parker didn’t suffer a season-ending injury. While neither are Pro Bowl-level players, they would’ve certainly been better than what the team has now. Herron has never been a full-time starter but that could change.
Kolton Miller has the left tackle spot locked down but right tackle is a mess. Veteran journeyman Jermaine Eluemunor and rookie seventh-round pick Thayer Munford are clearly not cutting it at right tackle. Eluemunor has a 55.1 from Pro Football Focus grade while Munford only has a 31.2 grade. It would take much for Herron to beat those two players out. McDaniels and Bricillo should know the tackle well and wouldn’t trade for him if they didn’t think he could help. It’s unlikely he’ll be thrust into the starting right tackle role immediately but he’ll have a chance in the coming weeks to earn that spot. At the very least, he gives the Raiders more depth on the offensive line.
Raiders OL Ranked 2nd Worst in NFL, per PFF
During the Raiders’ historic loss against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2, the offensive line only gave up one sack on the first drive of the game and didn’t allow another throughout. However, that didn’t mean they played well. The offensive line was plagued by penalties and poor blocking. According to Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, the Raiders have the 31st-ranked offensive line in the NFL through two weeks:
After playing so well at right guard in the first game of the season, rookie Dylan Parham was moved into center against Arizona and struggled far more. This line was already struggling badly before they had to reshuffle to accommodate injury.
Seven different players have already given up pressure, and they have six penalties as a group. Blocking Jeffery Simmons will be one of the tougher assignments this interior has all season, which could give the Titans’ defense a big bounce-back opportunity this week.