Heading into their Week 6 matchup against the Buffalo Bills, the 2026 version of the Las Vegas Raiders’ offensive line hasn’t looked very different than last season.
The Raiders are averaging just 3.0 yards per carry as a team and, according to Pro Football Focus, 240 of Ashton Jeanty’s 291 rushing yards (82.5%) have come after contact. Additionally, quarterback Kirk Cousins has been under pressure on 41.0% of his dropbacks in Las Vegas’ last two games, per PFF.
As a result, head coach Klint Kubiak
suggested some changes to the Raiders’ trenches could be coming during his press conference on Monday after the team’s 45-17 loss to the New England Patriots.
“We have to look at everything,” Kubiak replied when asked about a potential shuffle to the offensive line, via Silver & Black Sports Network’s Jesse Merrick. “We have to improve there. It’s something I’ve been saying for multiple weeks now that’s not getting done, and so, as a coaching staff, it falls on me. It falls on me to get it fixed.” The Athletic’s Sam Warren added that Kubiak confirmed other linemen will get more opportunities moving forward.
In other words, the coach is publicly calling the position group out, and it’s up to them to respond. No one should feel like their spot is safe at this stage, leading to questions about what changes could be in store for Sunday’s game against the Bills.
Left guard Spencer Burford seems like the most logical choice to get replaced. Burford has really struggled in pass protection, giving up the most pressures (18) of any guard this season, per PFF. Additionally, his 56.6 run-blocking grade doesn’t inspire much confidence and is tied for 56th out of 81 qualifiers (minimum 85 snaps). Then again, the other guard, Jackson Powers-Johnson, has a case to get replaced, too.
Powers-Johnson has been stingier in pass protection with just nine pressures surrendered in four games. However, he’s been a problem in the running game with the fifth-worst run-blocking grade (43.8) at his position. The third-year pro has struggled with consistency throughout his career and had to fend off second-year pro Caleb Rogers during training camp to remain in the starting lineup. That sets up another potential swap.
On top of that, Kolton Miller and Tyler Linderbaum were viewed as steadying presences on Las Vegas’ offensive line heading into the campaign. However, both have left something to be desired. Miller has been charged with 12 pressures over the last two weeks, and Linderbaum’s 63.1 PFF grade for the season ranks 19th among centers.
The latter isn’t “bad” per se, but it isn’t what the organization bargained for when it made him the highest-paid interior offensive lineman in NFL history, and by a wide margin at that. Granted, it’s highly unlikely that those two are in danger of losing their respective spots at this stage. But there is certainly room for improvement.
Long story short, the only Raiders offensive lineman who has met or exceeded expectations so far this season is right tackle DJ Glaze. The 2024 third-round pick has been solid in the run game with a 62.8 mark and has made tremendous strides in pass protection, yielding just seven pressures. That gives the Silver and Black a silver lining in the trenches, but the rest of the group has some work to do and, as noted above, changes could be coming.
Rogers had a rough showing in his one start this year, filling in for an injured Powers-Johnson against the Kansas City Chiefs. But that’s a small sample size, and it isn’t like the current first-string guards are getting the job done. The Texas Tech product has exclusively played right guard under Kubiak, but he did get run on the left side during the preseason a year ago. Also, JPJ and Burford have experience playing on both sides of the line to expand the combinations that the Raiders can deploy in the trenches.
Meanwhile, rookie Trey Zuhn III was cross-trained at just about every offensive line position during training camp but has only been used as an extra lineman/jumbo tight end for 12 snaps during the regular season. He could factor into the mix at guard too, and maybe even left tackle if need be, since that was his primary college position. Granted, Zuhn missed last week’s game with a knee injury and was limited in this Wednesday’s practice.
Also waiting in the balance is second-year offensive tackle Charles Grant, whose only significant regular-season action came in last year’s Week 18 contest against the Chiefs.
So, for this week’s game day discussion on The FEED, we’ll be keeping tabs on the Raiders’ offensive line, starting with who is on the field. The game kicks off at 1:25 p.m. PST and will air on CBS (check your local listings). I look forward to talkin’ some ball with y’all!
