Could third-round pick Trey Zuhn III be starting along the Raiders’ offensive in his first season?
The 23-year-old rookie took reps at right tackle during OTAs on Wednesday, and Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter believes Zuhn is going to factor into the starting lineup at some point.
“Trey Zuhn is going to get reps all over the offensive line,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast on Wednesday.
“He got reps… at right tackle. He’s going to get reps at center and he’s going to get reps at left tackle and both the guards. He’s not going to replace Tyler Linderbaum and he’s not going to replace Kolton Miller. But he’s still going to get reps everywhere. He is that versatile,” Carpenter continued.
“Remember, this is the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Year. He’s the guy that in multiple weeks of my mock draft, I had the Raiders getting. I knew early they were in on him. They loved him from day one. He was a lineman they really wanted badly and they got him. I could see him beating out either guard spot, and I could see him beating out even D.J. Glaze, potentially. He’s going to make everybody compete everywhere.”
The California Post’s Vinny Bonsignore also commented on Zuhn from OTAs and said it was notable how many reps Zuhn seened to get on Wednesday.
“Now we’ll see what Trey Zuhn is all about. Getting some reps over at right tackle,” Bonsignore said on Raider Nation Radio’s JT the Brick Show.
“It was hard to see everybody in the offensive line… [but] it looked like he was getting the most reps. I don’t want to make it sound like he was dominating the reps at right tackle because Charles Grant and DJ Glaze were also in that mix. But just the fact that he got reps and got a lot of them over at right tackle is an important development, at least at this stage.”
Most analysts considered Zuhn more of a guard going into the draft, but with Jackson Powers-Johnson, Spencer Burford and Caleb Rogers in the mix at guard, the coaching staff might prefer to see Zuhn compete with Glaze at right tackle.
If Zuhn does end up playing tackle, the coaching staff could take a look at Glaze at guard.
For now, though, it sounds like the initial starting line in Las Vegas won’t involve Zuhn or either of the rookies drafted a year ago (Rogers and Charles Grant).
Rogers and Grant both played well at times last year, so it will be interesting to see how they develop and what chances they are afforded in year two with a new coaching staff in the building.
x: @raidersbeat