The Raiders’ ground game was stuck in the mud last season, and the numbers made that painfully clear. Pete Carroll’s offense finished dead last in EPA per rush at -0.26, a full step behind the second-worst team, the New Orleans Saints at -0.12. Even with Ashton Jeanty in the mix, Las Vegas never found a real rhythm running the ball.
A huge piece of that problem was the absence of Kolton Miller. The longtime left tackle appeared in only four games while working through an ankle injury, and without him the Raiders lost one of the core pieces of their offensive identity. The left side of the run game disappeared, and so did the kind of pass protection that keeps a quarterback upright from his blind side.
Now Miller is healthy again, back in place as the starting left tackle, and the whole picture looks different. With Klint Kubiak calling plays and Rick Dennison coaching the offensive line, the Raiders should have a much cleaner, more functional plan on offense in 2026.
Jeanty stands to gain the most. Last season, he was repeatedly met in the backfield before he could get going, and his rookie year never really had a chance to open up. With Miller back on the edge, the Raiders should finally give him the kind of runway that was missing a year ago.
There’s also a new quarterback situation to factor in. Las Vegas will have a different starter this season, whether it’s Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza. Whoever ends up taking the snaps, Miller’s presence at left tackle is a major upgrade in front of him.
Geno Smith dealt with constant pressure and turnovers last season, and Miller’s return might have changed some of that if he’d been available. Instead, the Raiders are moving forward from where that season left them.
Miller will be 31 when the season starts, and he’s coming off a major injury, but the Raiders have every reason to be pleased to have him back. He’s been a fixture for this team for years and has quietly been one of the more underrated tackles in the league.
Add Miller back into the mix, then pair him with Tyler Linderbaum at center, and the offensive line starts to look a lot more credible. The Raiders are simply a better team when Miller is on the field, and the offense should feel that immediately.
In Other News...
Raiders Suddenly Have A Right Tackle Problem They Can't Ignore
Training camp was always going to sort out the Raiders offensive line, but the early returns have only sharpened the focus on right tackle. DJ Glaze has been working there and the results have been uneven enough to draw attention, while the team continues to shuffle pieces elsewhere and look for the best way to stabilize the edge. Charles Grant is still backing up on the left side, and for now Las Vegas is leaning on a mix of young depth and undrafted competition rather than bringing in an established veteran.
Trey Zuhn III is one of the more interesting names in that mix, because he has already been moved into right tackle work with the second-unit offense after spending time at guard and center. That kind of reshuffling usually says as much about the coaching staffs urgency as it does about the players versatility. The Raiders do not need a camp battle that lingers much longer, though, because right tackle is quickly becoming one of the spots they can least afford to leave unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders First Padded Practice Exposed One Concern Fans Cant Ignore
The Raiders moved into their first padded training camp practice under new head coach Klint Kubiak, and that shift brought a more revealing look at where the roster stands. It was the kind of session that tends to separate early camp noise from something a little more real, with veterans and young players alike getting a clearer test in fuller contact. Maxx Crosby and Brock Bowers were both back on the field after injury, and their presence immediately raised the level of the group around them, while rookie Fernando Mendoza showed flashes and some uneven moments as he starts the long process of settling in.
DJ Glaze, though, remains one of the more pressing watch points for the Raiders as the line work gets tougher and the margin for error shrinks. In padded practice, that side of the offensive front can tell you a lot about how quickly a team is coming together, and Glazes performance did not make that conversation any easier to ignore. For a team trying to establish itself under a new coaching staff, those early camp reps matter because they hint at which problems are temporary and which ones may need a lot more solving. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Quarterback Battle Is Showing Why This Offense Needs Time
The Raiders quarterback room has become one of the most watched parts of training camp, and for good reason. With Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza joining returning quarterback Aidan OConnell, Las Vegas suddenly has multiple passers trying to get comfortable in a new offensive scheme under a new coaching staff, and the early days have looked like what usually happens in a true installation period: some clean stretches, some rough ones, and plenty of learning on the fly.
For the Raiders, the bigger takeaway may be less about who is ahead right now and more about how much work still needs to be done before this offense looks settled. The quarterbacks are competing, sure, but they are also working together to sharpen the system and help the group improve collectively, which suggests this camp is as much about building the foundation as it is about deciding a pecking order. [Read more 🡒]