One of the biggest concerns for the Raiders going into the 2022 season was the state of their offensive line. The belief was that it was among the worst units in the league and that it would ultimately hold them back from making a deep run in the playoffs.
That hasn’t been the case this season despite a ton of turnover on the unit. In fact, they’ve steadily improved all season long despite having several different starting lineups.
In a recent article by Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, he ranked all 32 offensive lines heading into Week 18. Surprisingly, the Raiders have jumped all the way up to No. 11 on this list. Here is what Monson had to say about the unit overall this season:
“This line ranked as low as 31st in Week 2 before climbing steadily over the year. Coming in at 11th this week represents a season high.”
One of the reasons why the unit has graded out well has been due to the play of the offensive tackle. Kolton Miller is currently the No. 7 graded offensive tackle in the league while Jermaine Eluemunor comes in at No. 26. Having two top-30 offensive tackles in the league gives them a big advantage over the rest of the NFL.
The Raiders still need to figure out the right guard spot in 2023 as Alex Bars isn’t a long-term option. But they are more than passable everywhere else. If they can make a few minor upgrades this offseason, this could easily be a top-10 unit by this time next season.
