The Las Vegas Raiders are on the verge of the new season. After the last preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers, the team will lock in for the first week of the season. With a new quarterback, regardless of whether it’s Fernando Mendoza or Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas will have a new offense. Similarly, linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker will look to revitalize a defense that allowed 25.4 points per game. In essence, line play, in one analyst’s view, will dictate the team’s progress. The Athletic’s Joe Mays details his concerns.
“The quality of this team’s front lines, both offensively and defensively, raises concerns. We previously discussed how they might be able to mask some issues with the offensive line, which seems fair. However, if we focus on the individual talents, Spencer Burford is likely to become a starting guard for this team. He was outperformed in San Francisco before rejoining a squad that doesn’t have a surplus of top-notch offensive line talent.”
Last year, the offensive line was consistent, struggling with both pass and run blocking. The team allowed 64 sacks, turned over by every defense they faced, jeopardizing the health of their quarterbacks. The team struggled to create running lanes. Somehow, despite this, Ashton Jeanty ran for 975 yards, which says more about his ability than their failings.
Afraid of Aggression
Former defensive coordinator Patrick Graham operated a risk-averse style. For instance, he stacked the box 48% of the time. Mays highlights the issue.
“And if you look at the defensive side of the ball, for all the guys they added in the secondary, the interior defensive line rotation on this team is the same as it was last year when they had to play a very specific way defensively with Patrick Graham as the defensive coordinator. This team in Las Vegas last year, per Next Gen, played with eight guys in the box on 48 percent of its runs. That was 10 percentage points higher than any other team in the NFL.”
Graham coached the Raiders’ defense not to lose but instead to win, leaving the secondary on several metaphorical islands. Rob Leonard aims to unleash the defensive line’s full potential. Last year, he was hamstrung by Graham’s propensity for caution.
Someone’s gotta tell Rob Leonard this is the preseason lol
-Shift into a double-mug look
-Both LBs drop, boundary CB blitzes w/ no stacked S
-Show 2-high pre-snap, rotate boundary S down to bluff 1-high
-Field S rotates to deep half in boundary
-SS drops to play Cover 2 pic.twitter.com/ilC1i1wMkS— Matt Holder (@MHolder95) August 22, 2026
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On the Spot
Jackson Powers-Johnson arrived in Las Vegas as the solution to the interior of the offensive line. However, between injury and atrocious play, he could not get comfortable, and teams took advantage. The Raiders cannot let his relatively high draft status hinder their progress. Somewhere, the term “fish or cut bait” feels apropos.
Klint Kubiak on the Raiders right guard battle between Jackson Powers-Johnson and Caleb Rogers.
“It continues. This game will be really important for that battle. I know both of those guys are gonna play this year. We’re counting on both of them, as well as a lot of other guys.”
— Sam Warren (@samwarren83) August 25, 2026
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JPJ must find a way not only to win a starting job but also to play better. If he can’t, then he needs to find his way to the bench. Under head coach Klint Kubiak, the Carroll era ended, and the unofficial scholarships ended. Now, the Raiders need to find a way to dominate along the lines of scrimmage.
Sustained failure in the trenches cannot be accepted or tolerated. The AFC, as well as the schedule, remains a gauntlet.
Analysts Sound the Alarm on Raiders Trenches Ahead of Season Opener