By nearly any metric, the Raiders had an above-average offensive line for the 2023 season. The unit stabilized itself after Jermaine Eluemunor won the right tackle job and Dylan Parham stepped up at left guard.
The Raiders have returned all five starters from last season, so they should have a top-ranked unit again this season, right? Well, that’s not necessarily the case.
In a recent article by Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, he ranked all 32 offensive lines heading into the 2023 NFL season. The Raiders came in at No. 19, down nine spots from where they were to finish the year. Here is a snippet of what Monson had to say about the group going into the year:
The interior trio of the Raiders’ line last season had an average PFF grade of 56.7, but the team is returning all three. This group overachieved last season, but it’s tough to see it projecting far above average on paper.
While the Raiders are returning all five starters from 2022, that wouldn’t necessarily be the same group that starts the year in 2023. Thayer Munford has been pushing Eluemunor for the starting right tackle job and Greg Van Roten could wind up being the starting right guard over Alex Bars.
The Raiders are still trying to find a way to get their best five linemen on the field at one time, but it’s hard to expect the unit to get that much worse in 2023 barring a major injury. While the group might not look sexy on paper, it’s a very functional unit that played extremely well last year.
