Analysis: Could Raiders opt for offensive lineman in first round?

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Thursday, April 1, 2021 | 2 a.m.

The consensus seems to be that Las Vegas will go defense with its first-round pick in next month’s NFL Draft, and that would be plenty logical. The Raiders have fielded one of the league’s worst defenses for years, and with holes at every position on that side of the ball there is an obvious need for more talent.

But then you’ve got to factor in Jon Gruden.

There’s nothing the Raiders head coach values more than a big, powerful, old-school offensive line, and he has proven how much he cares about that unit by investing a large amount of capital there since returning to the franchise in 2018. Gruden used his first draft pick, No. 15 overall in the 2018 draft, to select left tackle Kolton Miller. The following offseason, he and general manager Mike Mayock gave right tackle Trent Brown the largest contract ever for an offensive lineman.

Miller has worked out, improving each season to the point where the team felt comfortable giving him a three-year extension worth $42.6 million guaranteed. That will keep Miller in place through the 2025 season.

Brown did not work out. His play slipped, his conditioning slipped, and his health slipped, and the Raiders sent him back to New England earlier this offseason for a low-round draft pick.

That leaves Las Vegas with one tackle cemented in the lineup and one giant hole on the other side.

It’s difficult to address the right tackle position through free agency, since the team just gave Miller a huge extension. It’s hard to pay top-of-the-market money to two tackles, so how else to get elite play at both positions while keeping costs manageable? Pay one, draft one.

The most available route to adding a strong right tackle is now through the draft, and there just happens to be a Gruden-type blocker projected to be available when Las Vegas picks at No. 17 overall.

Teven Jenkins, a three-year starter at Oklahoma State, checks in at 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds, and he plays even bigger than that. Most mock drafts have Jenkins somewhere in the bottom half of the first round, and the Raiders have to be taking a long look at nabbing him at 17.

Jenkins has a reputation for mauling defenders in the run game, which is what you want in a prototype right tackle, and there were situations last season when he simply manhandled his opponents. But he’s also quick on his feet for someone so huge, and he plays with the kind of attitude that is certain to endear him to a run-heavy coach like Gruden.

On this play, Jenkins  blocks down on the defensive end, and once the defender has been passed on to the right guard, Jenkins flares back outside and blocks the linebacker, opening a big running lane.

For good measure, Jenkins finishes off the play with a pancake:

On this play, Jenkins shows quick feet to get inside his man and turn him, opening a hole up the middle for a first-down gain:

Here, a tight end takes the outside defender, and Jenkins is tasked with clearing space inside. At the snap he finds the linebacker and drives him back four yards, then moves on to the safety, who he also drives back four yards:

For a big, big man, Jenkins can handle himself in space. Here he shoots out to the second level, locates the linebacker and completely walls him off, producing another first-down gain:

Gruden to hand the ball off to Josh Jacobs 15 times a game, and he also just gave $11 million guaranteed to running back Kenyan Drake in free agency. The Raiders are going to pound the ball. You can almost picture Gruden watching film of Jenkins and smiling at how much more productive he could make the running game.

Jenkins’s pass protection isn’t as impressive as his run blocking, but he’s tough to beat. On this play he takes an edge rusher one-on-one and drives him into the ground:

Quickness can give Jenkins some issues. On this play, the pass rusher flashes outside and then beats Jenkins inside before he can recover:

And on this play—a fourth-down play in overtime when Oklahoma State needed a touchdown to stay alive—Jenkins gets flat-out beat by a speed rush to the outside. And that’s despite Jenkins actually getting away with a false start, as he comes out of his stance before the ball is snapped:

According to Pro Football Focus, Jenkins had 582 pass-blocking snaps over the course of the 2019 and 2020 seasons and only allowed 11 quarterback pressures, so he’s doing a very solid job in pass protection. There is some reason to question those particular numbers, as PFF had him with zero sacks allowed despite Jenkins’s man taking down the QB on that overtime play, but overall he can keep a clean pocket.

With Miller locked up through 2025 and a rookie like Jenkins under team control for five seasons, the Raiders could guarantee themselves two good tackles through the rest of Derek Carr’s prime—and at a reasonable combined cost.

Las Vegas could very well choose a defensive player with their first pick, but the idea of adding Jenkins has to hold a certain appeal to Gruden.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.