Long before he even got to see his players up close and personal, head coach Klint Kubiak made it known he liked the offensive linemen he and offensive line boss Rick Dennison were inheriting with the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Silver & Black’s new coach spotlighted offensive tackles Kolton Miller and DJ Glaze as the duo provides “stability” as bookends in the trenches while also name-dropping young linemen Jackson Powers-Johnson and Caleb Rogers — all in late February.
Which beckons a question: Are the
Raiders truly comfortable with the current offensive line?
Or were Kubiak’s words two months ago merely window dressing for a rookie head coach taking up his first post as the lead man for an NFL team?
Considering general manager John Spytek and his personnel staff rolled up their collective sleeves and sprinted towards free agency in March, perhaps there’s truth in Kubiak’s portrayed confidence.
Since those comments, the Raiders landed big-time center Tyler Linderbaum to a position-resetting record contract to bolster the offensive line. The team also added guard Spencer Buford in free agency while re-upping in-house free agents such as center/guard Jordan Meredith and center Will Putnam. Yes, Las Vegas did lose starting guard Dylan Parham to free agency (New York Jets), but overall, the group remains very much intact to last season.
Whether that’s a good or bad thing — will be up to Dennison and Kubiak.
That all said, the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft will tell us the sincerity of Kubiak’s early offseason praise.
Spytek, alongside assistant general manager Brian Stark, didn’t provide too much insight on Las Vegas’ draft plans during the pre-draft press conference both engaged in earlier this past week — no team does. But the little nuggets the pair of Silver & Black personnel men dropped was interesting nonetheless.
While Spytek did spend back-to-back third-round picks in the 2025 draft on offensive linemen — guard Rogers (98th overall) and offensive tackle Charles Grant (99th) — a team cannot have enough competition and quality depth in the trenches. With Kubiak and Dennison installing a scheme that relies heavily on outside/wide zone and the zone blocking scheme overall, a group of agile, intelligent, and in-sync linemen is a must.
Fortunately for Las Vegas — and other teams needing to bolster the trenches — this draft class features a good group of offensive linemen, according to Stark.
“I think you always want to talk about the depth of the draft class. I mean, it usually takes a couple years to really figure that out, but I will say that it does feel the safety group has been mentioned. It feels like it’s a good safety group, but there’s a good group of offensive linemen, there’s a good group of receivers, there’s some position groups that are pretty deep in the class,” the Raiders assistant GM said this past Tuesday. “There’s players that should have opportunity all through the draft. So, there’s good players this year for sure.”
Spytek provided additional break down later in that media session. And his comment on despite making maneuvers in free agency, that doesn’t mean the Raiders won’t be eyeing offensive line prospects this coming week, is apt. But the kicker he added on the end was hilarious.
“Well, super excited to have Rico (Rick Dennison) here. He’s super accredited. I think he’s got four Super Bowls, Super Bowl rings, and it seems like everywhere he goes, they run the football and they protect the quarterback, and that’s a pretty good place to start with an offensive line,” Spytek began. “In terms of the draft this year, I’m happy that we added the guys we did, but I’ve never been anywhere where you feel like you’ve got too many offensive linemen. They’re such a hard position to acquire, whether it’s in the draft, it’s almost impossible in free agency it feels like, especially at certain positions.
“And just because we’ve added certain guys through free agency, doesn’t mean that we won’t be looking for offensive linemen too. I’m on record of saying they’re sexy as hell, and I stand by that.”
Sexy as hell, eh?
What’ll be curious to see with the upcoming 2026 draft, undrafted free agency, and free agency in general is the linemen the Raiders pick up. Zone-blocking types — particular the wide or outside zone — tend to be quicker, agile, athletic, where lateral movement and intelligence are prioritized over pure size and power. For Kubiak’s offense to fire on all cylinders, the offensive line must be in sync and execute fast reach blocks — in tandem — and efficiently move to second level to block linebackers.
This type of scheme usually means the power blockers who are more plodders than movers are not ideal. Those bulky overpowering linemen may not fit. Which is where concerns with Glaze’s continued tenure as the starting right tackle lie as the Maryland product is 6-foot-4 and 331 pounds, which makes the 23-year-old lineman the second heaviest Raider on the roster, behind only Laki Tasi (6-foot-6 and 373 pounds). There’s also guard Antonio Mafi who stands 6-foot-3 and 330 pounds — he’s more of a bulky plodder than move and scoot. Starting left tackle Kolton Miller tips the scales at 326 pounds but he’s also 6-foot-8 and has shown plenty of lateral agility in his nine years as a Raider.
There was a time where zone blocking scheme-type offensive linemen prospects could be had in late rounds or undrafted free agency due to their smaller statures, but the pro game has shifted to where agile blockers are being taken in the opening and early rounds. The top offensive line prospects that are best suited for zone blocking schemes in the pros include: Miami’s Francis Mauigoa (first round, Top 15); Utah’s Spencer Fano (first round, Top 20); Georgia’s Monroe Freeling (first round, mid to late); Arizona’s Caleb Lomu (first round/second round); and Texas A&M’s Chase Bisontis (first/second) — for example.
Las Vegas owns the No. 1 overall selection in this upcoming draft alongside the 36th and 67th overall picks in the following two rounds. The team holds a trio of fourth-round picks (102nd, 117th, 134th) along with a pair of sixth-round selections (185th and 208th). It would be surprising to see Spytek/Kubiak, et al use a selection on an offensive lineman next week.
