Silver Linings: Raiders offensive line projected to be 20th in pass protection

ESPN projects Las Vegas’ OL to regress in 2021

Seth Walder and the ESPN Analytics team recently released their pass block win rate projections (PBWR) for every NFL offensive line. The Las Vegas Raiders’ unit came in number 20 with a forecasted PBWR of 57 percent.

Here’s what Walder had to say about the Raiders’ big uglies:

20. Las Vegas Raiders

Projected PBWR: 57%

Projected offensive line: Kolton Miller (29th), Richie Incognito (DNQ), Andre James (DNQ), Denzelle Good (55th), Alex Leatherwood (rookie)

The dismantling of the Raiders’ offensive line still seems questionable, and our projections expect a significant step back in 2021. Las Vegas ranked 10th in PBWR last season, despite getting only two games from Incognito, who ranked third in PBWR among guards in 2019.

The projection model takes into account each player’s win rate in the two previous seasons, and any lineman who doesn’t meet the criteria is given a below-average PBWR. So, it should come as no surprise that Las Vegas’ crew is ranked in the bottom third of the league.

As Walder pointed out, the Raiders made some significant changes up front. Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson and Trent Brown are out and Andre James, Denzelle Good and Alex Leatherwood are in.

While Good did make 14 starts last year, he only recorded five in 2018, and James and Leatherwood have one regular-season game of NFL experience between them. Also, Richie Incognito only playing in two games last season brings down the entire unit’s projected average.

With so many unknowns, it’s difficult to accurately project how the Raiders offensive line will perform this year. Hopefully, Las Vegas’ crew will exceed expectations this season.

In other Raiders’ links:

• Darren Waller shows off his athleticism: The Raiders’ tight end posted a series of pictures on Instagram, making an impressive leaping one-handed grab.
• Tom Flores speaks on HOF induction: After a long wait, the three-time Super Bowl champion is headed to Canton, and he sat down with the Raiders’ digital media team to talk about the emotions of his induction.
• Kirby Wilson retires: In a bit of a surprise, Las Vegas’ running backs coach announced his retirement on Friday. Wilson coached for 35 years, two with the Silver and Black, and the team has not announced his replacement, yet.
• Raiders looking into stadium traffic issue: Allegiant Stadium was in the news after a concert revealed a few potential traffic issues as people left the venue. Raiders President Marc Badain stated in an interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal that the organization is working to solve the problem before the start of the season.