The Raiders’ offensive line is still searching for answers, and Sunday’s trip to New England didn’t offer many.
Spencer Burford, one of the names already floating around when talk turned to possible changes at guard, had a particularly rough outing. After a solid showing against the Chiefs in Week 4, Burford was hit with a pass-blocking grade of zero by Pro Football Focus against the Patriots. He allowed five pressures, but did not surrender a sack.
Kolton Miller’s grade drew its own eyebrow raise. PFF gave him a 65.7 pass-blocking mark even though he was charged with three pressures and two sacks. On paper, that’s a strange split, but the bigger takeaway is simple enough: nobody up front played especially well.
D.J. Glaze was the closest thing the Raiders had to a steady presence in pass protection.
He gave up three quarterback hurries, but he didn’t allow a sack or a quarterback hit. Through five games, Glaze and center Tyler Linderbaum have combined to surrender 12 quarterback pressures, with each being charged with one sack on the year.
That kind of steadiness has made Glaze one of the early surprises on this offensive line. And if the guard play doesn’t pick up soon, second-year guard Caleb Rogers could be back in the picture sooner rather than later.
The problems aren’t limited to pass protection, either. Ashton Jeanty is averaging just 3.3 yards per carry through the first five games, and while his injured ankle has played a role, the run blocking has been an issue from the start.
That matters in Klint Kubiak’s offense, which is built around the run game. According to PFF, Rogers has been the Raiders’ best run blocker so far with a 77.3 grade, although that comes over a relatively small sample of 89 offensive snaps. On the other end, Powers-Johnson has been the team’s lowest-graded run blocker at 43.8, which is a surprising number given his size and mobility.
Kubiak has been patient so far, but that patience may not last forever if the line doesn’t start creating more room in the ground game. If Rogers is pushed back into the starting mix, the real question is which guard spot he takes over.
The best guess? Powers-Johnson.
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