The Las Vegas Raiders drafted Trey Zuhn III to help their offensive line, and he could get on the field right away.
Most of the focus in the NFL draft is on the first round, especially for the Las Vegas Raiders given that they had the top overall pick and they were able to select quarterback Fernando Mendoza. But the draft is also full of Day 2 and Day 3 picks who make a significant impact, and one of the Raiders other offenisve selections was identified as a sleeper by Field Yates of ESPN in his rundown of players who will make an instant impact.
The selection of offensive lineman Trey Zuhn III impressed a lot of experts, including Yates. The ESPN expert liked the versatility that Zuhn brings to the table, and Yates cited Zuhn as being one of the most versatile prospects in the draft, regardless of position.
Zuhn spent most of his time at left tackle at Texas A&M, but he also played over 100 snaps at center, according to Yates. The Raiders signed Tyler Linderbaum in free agency to anchor the center of the line, but Zuhn could slot in as a backup given that that Las Vegas had all kinds of problems finding a competent center who could handle shotgun snaps last year.
But that’s not where the instant impact comes in, Yates added as he said Zuhn could compete for snaps at guard right away. That makes sense given what a disaster the offensive line was as a whole for Las Vegas last year, and the only lineman who are penciled in as automatic starters are Linderbaum and left tackle Kolton Miller, who is returning after spending most the year out of the lineup with a high ankle sprain that turned out to be a stress fracture.
There’s still some uncertainty across the rest of the line in Las Vegas, and that’s another possibility for Zuhn to be a plug-and-play option right away. He has the chops to be an effective swing tackle, and that could get him on the field quickly if he shows he can handle that role at the NFL level.
Yates described Zuhn as an “easy mover” with good length at 6’6”, 319 pounds, and the writer added that Zuhn could play an interior spot in coach Klint Kubiak’s zone-heavy run scheme.
It’s a promising development for a team that struggled to protect the quarterback last year, so Zuhn will have to show that he can handle that part of the job, especially given that Kirk Cousins is likely to be the Week 1 starter at quarterback and he’s basically a pocket passer with almost no mobility.