When the Raiders drafted Alex Leatherwood with the 17th-overall pick in the 2021 draft, the plan was for the Alabama lineman to fill the huge void at right tackle left by Trent Brown.
But the combination of injuries at guard and Leatherwood’s poor play at tackle led the Raiders to move him to guard after just four games. Leatherwood has played much better on the interior of the offensive line and Raiders’ color commentator Lincoln Kennedy believes guard is the best position for Leatherwood until he develops better fundamentals.
“The big thing with Alex Leatherwood… because he’s strong he likes to get his hands out there and leave them out there,” Kennedy said on Raider Nation Radio 920 AM’s In The Huddle radio show. “You can do that at guard. You can’t do that at tackle because at tackle you’ve got to be like a boxer. You throw a punch, I counter… He’s more suited for guard right now by the way he’s playing.”
According to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, the long-term plan for Leatherwood is still to move him back to right tackle, but there’s a limit to how patient the Raiders can be at such a premium position.
Whatever the Raiders decide to do at right tackle next year, they will need to get it right. Another year of sub-par play at right tackle, especially considering all the investment the organization has made at the position over the last few years, would be a major disappointment.
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Alex Leatherwood is another poor example of a long line of poor draft picks
Raiders have history of not developing draft picks
Maybe with Gruden, and hopefully Mayock gone, the Raiders START hitting on some of these high draft picks. This is the main reason why this team is mostly competing for the AFC West cellar, yearly. When will ownership figure this out??? Also, tired of them bringing in high $$$ free agents that don’t pan out. The draft IS the way to go!
Hopefully Denzel Good is healthy next year. Seems to be able to play any o line position.
Not sure it’s Mayocks fault. Gruden probably bit of a control freak. Any way you slice it we haven’t drafted well. Reaching on guys when you can wait and get them later sometimes much later. Also picking guys with alot of character issues. Obviously this happens in every team organization but at a higher click with Raiders. Free agency has been disappointing also. It serves a purpose. You bring in a veteran that is proven and you pay a little more. They have missed on too many guys. Sure just like draft they have hit but the misses add up and they hurt. In the NFL it’s so close between first place and last when you start adding these misses plus the regular season grind and obstacles. That’s how you find yourself in 3rd or 4th