The Las Vegas Raiders planned to have a much better rushing attack this season after ranking dead last in the NFL a year ago. Drafting running back Ashton Jeanty in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft was supposed to help solve those problems, but the early results have not been strong.
Jeanty has totaled 144 yards through the first three weeks of the season at just 3.1 yards per carry, and some are already beginning to wonder whether he was worth that pick for the Raiders. But in the eyes of former Pro Bowl offensive lineman Mark Schlereth, the running back isn’t the issue; the offensive line is.
Schlereth appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and called out the Raiders’ offensive line for their failures against the Washington Commanders, who he feels aren’t exactly stacked up front themselves:
“The concern is the Raiders couldn’t block their way out of a wet paper sack. Like I’ve got a couple of guys on there. Daron Payne for Washington is a really good player, and I think they’ve got a bunch of really good players, but they don’t have anybody other than Daron Payne who’s an absolute war daddy on that line of scrimmage. Their offensive line was awful. It was purely awful in this.”
Schlereth would continue, noting the struggles of right guard Alex Cappa and right tackle DJ Glaze as particularly unacceptable:
“The combination of not being unable to block anybody and then Ashton learning exactly what he is supposed to do, that’s a bad combination right off the start. I thought the right side of their offensive line, with their right tackle and their right guard, was just subpar at best. That’s probably an insult to subpar things, but they were subpar at best.”
It has been proven time and again that no matter how good the running back is, having a strong offensive line is crucial to their success, and this line just hasn’t been up to par in Schlereth’s eyes. No one is giving up on Jeanty after three games; everyone sees his talent. But if the offensive line doesn’t perform, he and the rest of the Raiders offense will continue to struggle.
Raiders to try out free agent offensive linemen?
The Raiders appear to recognize that something needs to be addressed upfront, but their options for improving their offensive line at this stage are limited. But the team reportedly could be looking at bringing in some free agent linemen for a workout in the coming days.
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