The Raiders have already done a lot of roster repair since the offseason began, but the work still isn’t finished. At 3-3, Las Vegas has shown enough improvement to prove the front office got some things right. It has also shown exactly where the cracks still are.
If the Raiders decide to make a move before the trade deadline, the clearest target is an offensive guard. That’s the spot that could most directly help a unit that has improved from last season but still hasn’t fully come together.
The offensive line remains the biggest concern on the roster. It’s not the disaster it was a year ago, but it has been inconsistent enough to show up in the offense’s overall problems. The group is still settling in after several new pieces arrived this offseason, and that lack of cohesion has mattered.
Offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko said the staff is tracking the group’s growth in the smallest details.
“I think it's really every meeting, every snap, every play that we go every series and just building those things together," Janocko said earlier this week.
"Can we get 1% better with our techniques, our hand placement, how we come off the ball, what's our eyes look like? What's our pad level?
What's our finish? All those things that we can quantify.
Can we get 1% better than that? And that's how we're going to grow as not just an offensive line, but as an offense and as an organization."
That mindset fits a line that still needs more time, but time is only part of the equation. The quickest fix would be a trade for a dependable lineman, and if Las Vegas is willing to part with draft picks or a player, that’s the kind of move that makes the most sense.
The Raiders brought in veteran Tyler Linderbaum this offseason, and now they’re sorting out which spots along the line still need the most attention. After six games, the answer is clear: the team still needs more from that group, not just for the rest of this season but likely beyond it.
The offensive issues have already had a real impact on the record. Las Vegas has lost three straight, and the offense has sputtered for long stretches during that skid. There have been stretches where the passing game hasn’t moved the ball well, and the run game has also struggled for most of the season.
Still, the coaching staff isn’t treating improvement as a one-time fix. Offensive coordinator Chip Kubiak said the focus is on steady gains, not chasing some finish line.
“It’s just something we’re going to look to improve every week. Whether we have a game that we rush for 150, 200 yards, we’re still going to go back and say, 'Okay, how can we get better?'
So, I don’t know that we’re looking at it in terms of it’s close. We’re looking for incremental improvement every week in everything we do,” Kubiak said.
Janocko also described the bigger-picture approach the staff uses when evaluating the offense.
"I think everything you look at, you got to look at the big picture, and it's not the same thing all the time," Janocko said.
"But what is our efficiency on first down? Are we in are we in second and long?
And then, do we have specific tendencies? So, we dig into all of that.
Whether it be first down, second down, third down. Wherever we're studying, we look at when we have success, what's the why, and then when we don't, what's the why?"
That’s the dilemma for Las Vegas now. The line is better than it was last season, but it still isn’t finished. And if the Raiders are going to use the deadline to sharpen this roster, the most logical swing is for help up front.
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