Two Additions Have Begun Raiders' Transformation Along Critical Units

Football games are won and lost along the line of scrimmage. Their lack of attention to their offensive and defensive lines finally caught up with the Las Vegas Raiders over the past two seasons. Las Vegas' inability to win the line of scrimmage on offense or defense has doomed them.

In fact, there are very few other issues that have plagued the Raiders more than their lack of success along the line of scrimmage. After winning only seven games combined over the past two seasons, the Las Vegas front office entered the offseason determined to fix the issues.

Raiders' Moves

Las Vegas added multiple players in free agency and the draft, confirming their roster-building plans for the future. However, many of their roster moves this offseason focused on the area of the game they have consistently lost for the past few seasons.

The Raiders added multiple players to their defensive line, signing veteran defensive end Kwity Paye in free agency. They also drafted edge rusher Keyron Crawford in the third round of the NFL Draft. Raiders assistant general manager Brian Stark explained the front office's feelings on Crawford.

“When you talk to him, he's really intense, very motivated, he's driven. He's overcome a lot, and he kind of found football late. And his experience at Arkansas State and his transition to Auburn gave him some confidence,” Stark said shortly after the Raiders drafted Crawford.

“And he's really motivated, he knows he's not at his ceiling, he's far from it. He had to and that's the way we feel. We feel he's going to bring a lot as far as competitive edge. And like Spy [John Spytek] said, anytime you can add someone that can affect the quarterback, and he's got the upside to do that at a high rate."

Continued Focus

Las Vegas signed veteran center Tyler Linderbaum and offensive lineman Spencer Burford in free agency to help solidify their offensive line. Both of those additions will pay dividends immediately for the Raiders, as Linderbaum and Burford will help Klint Kubiak's offense in multiple ways.

Still, the Raiders' decision to draft offensive lineman Trey Zuhn shortly after adding Crawford was yet more confirmation of Las Vegas' plans to continue revamping their offensive and defensive lines. Zuhn will likely take more time to develop, but Stark and the Raiders' front office are confident in him.

“[Trey] Zuhn's a player, he's been a good player there for a couple of years. So, he's a guy that has kind of been on the radar for a couple of years and kind of added some more versatility to his game by not just playing tackle now, but showing the versatility to go to center in-game, like Spy [John Spytek] was saying,” Stark said.

“So, he's always shown that. He's always played with that temperament, and then now with that added versatility to his game, I mean, it just increased his value as a player. But you watch him, all he does is block people, which is what you want those guys to do."

Crawford and Zuhn have to prove they can perform at a high level professionally. The players the Raiders signed in free agency must produce, as most of them did at their previous stops around the league. All of Las Vegas' new additions must prove themselves in a new environment.

However, regardless of how things pan out with the batch of players the Raiders added in free agency and the NFL Draft this summer, their offseason moves confirm their years-long process of thoroughly revamping their offensive line is just beginning. Expect the Raiders to continue tweaking their lines.

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