The Raiders have a lot to sort out along their offensive line in the next few months, and there’s a chance a rookie could wiggle into the starting lineup by the time the regular season rolls around.
Third-round pick Trey Zuhn III spent some time working at right tackle during the team’s initial OTA sessions, and there’s a chance he could end up competing at three different positions before the start of the season.
It’s still early in the evaluation process, but the California Post’s Vinny Bonsignore talked about Zuhn’s development this week on the Raiders’ flagship radio station, and he believes the rookie is on track to start the year being a backup at multiple positions.
“It’s going to be really interesting to watch the way he develops and where he kind of slots in. I would imagine just now sitting here, May 21st, he probably ends up being your backup swing guard, center, tackle, you name it, can do everything in the second grouping by the time the season gets rolling,” Bonsignore said on the JT the Brick Show.
“I wonder what the development looks like for him. If there’s a way he can kind of carve out a role as a starter, likely at that left guard spot. I mean, there’s going to be a lot of guys competing for it there.”
Based on what has been reported from OTAs, a few storylines have been forming in recent days, but ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez reminded fans this week that the media only gets a small glimpse into what the coaches are doing this time of year.
“This is something I always say… when we go out there for OTAs, we are seeing what they want us to see, because remember, we’re only seeing 3 of the 10 practices,” Gutierrez said on Friday.
“So when we’re out there, if they don’t want us to see certain things, they don’t want us to see certain combinations, we’re not going to see them in those three days. So all the hard work that’s going in to figure out which combination works best, because it’s not necessarily about who are your five best offensive linemen, it’s your best offensive line combination and then who else can fill in the holes around it. It’s about fit. It’s about the maturity of it all. It’s about trying to figure out who fits in what role, and it’s that whole dovetailing into each other.”
As Bonsignore and everyone covering the team has pointed out, it’s still early in the evaluation process and there’s a lot the new coaching staff is still learning about the roster.
Last year, it took all of training camp and most of preseason for the Raiders to figure out the offensive line, so there probably wouldn’t be any complaints if this year’s coaching staff is able to decide on things with a little more urgency.
x: @raidersbeat