Not since the season opening win over the Dolphins have the Raiders been able to get things going on the ground. Eventually this led to the Raiders making their first personnel change two weeks ago when they benched Jackson Powers-Johnson in favor of second-year guard Caleb Rogers.
That change not only hasn't improved anything, but may have made it worse. Things are a bad as ever for the Raiders rushing attack, not to mention their pass blocking. So, the work continues.
“We're gonna give other guys opportunities," Klint Kubiak said regarding more potential changes along the offensive line. "We're gonna keep shaking it up until we find the right mix.”
At this point, the next man up would appear to be Trey Zuhn. The rookie third round pick has seen
the field in games mostly as an extra lineman in jumbo packages, but has yet to start a game. With the way that Rogers looked against the Rams, could that change be coming this week when Raiders head to New York to face the Jets?
Kubiak has hinted at changes the past few weeks and the Rogers swap was the only change that's happened, so it's hard to say.
Should Zuhn get a shot, the other question would be at which position exactly that shot would come. Zuhn played tackle in college, was a center prospect in the leadup to the draft, and was drafted by the Raiders as a guard. And he's moved around a lot since he arrived in Las Vegas.
“I’ve seen a guy that since the day he got here has been a swiss army knife," Kubiak said of Zuhn. "He can play so many positions and very intelligent, hard working player that is still ascending, still getting better, and he'll have his chance."
Zuhn focused in on guard and right tackle in camp. DJ Glaze has held up fairly well at right tackle this season, so it's likely, should Zuhn make his first start, it would come at one of the guard spots.
A couple weeks ago it looked like left guard Spencer Burford might be the one benched, not Jackson Powers-Johnson. So, that's possible. It could also be that, after Rogers' rough outing last Sunday, they put Zuhn in at right guard to see what he can do.
Who knows if such a change would improve anything, but at this point you have to throw everything at the wall to see if anything sticks.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders to 'keep shaking it up' on OL. Is it Trey Zuhn time vs Jets?
