Trouble in the pocket. That might be all Derek Carr is going to get this season. With the 2022 season starting soon, The Raiders have lost one of the best offensive lines in all of football. John Gruden has gotten rid of three fifths of his offensive line this year.  He traded three starters,Trent Brown, Gabe Jackson and Rodney Hudson away to new teams. Trent Brown and a seventh round pick were traded to the Patriots in exchange for a fifth round pick. Gabe Jackson was traded to the Seahawks for a fifth round pick. Rodney Hudson and a seventh round pick was traded to the Cardinals for a third round pick in return.(per NFL.com)

For the new season the Raiders have Alex Leatherwood(2021 first round pick), Kolton Miller,Richie Incognito, Andre James and Denzelle Good. This new line is full of players who were backing up the old offensive line last year. Most of them have experience in Vegas and have become familiar with the system.The only starting lineman who lacks NFL experience is the Raiders first round selection, Alex Leatherwood. Alex was a beast in college. Playing for Alabama he only allowed three sacks and 16 total QB pressures. Needless to say the Raiders are excited about this kid. If this new offensive front turns out to be good, they will not only be a much younger squad than last year, but they will also be saving the team lots of money.(per raiders.com)

Head coach John Gruden had this to say about the offensive line. “I think Alex Leatherwood has been trained pretty good to play in front of big crowds. He’s a two-time National Champion. Andre James is in his third year. John Simpson has been in a big arena his whole life. So, these guys are anxious to start forming their own identity and they realize they have big shoes to fill. I think they are confident that they can come together and be a good unit.”

In the first game of the season, the Raiders were able to come up with a staggering 33 to 27 overtime win against the Ravens. The performance of the offensive line was pretty solid throughout the game. Only allowing three sacks. Right tackle Alex Leatherwood had a hard time adjusting to the speed of the NFL in his rookie debut. His pass protection looked stiff at times, and he let up a few costly penalties towards the end of the game. Overall I think it’s safe to say Raiders fans were happy about the performance of the offensive line this week.