The Las Vegas Raiders had a rough season in 2025 and need to shore up the offensive line in free agency.
There are several reasons why the Las Vegas Raiders will be picking first in the 2026 National Football League Draft but to put it simply, this team just wasn’t good in any area.
From the front office to the coaching staff to player personnel, nothing clicked for the Raiders and thus they finished the season 3-14 and fired Head Coach Pete Carroll after one season.
Before Carroll was fired, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and special teams coordinator Tom McMahon were relieved from their duties midseason. It was a mess from the jump and got worse as the season went on, but the organization granted Carroll the whole season to see if he could turn it around or show strides of improvement. Neither of which happened.
Quarterback play was among, if not the worst in the league and that will change given Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is projected to be the first player drafted, but a lot needs to change before the Raiders can become contenders.
Las Vegas still hasn’t hired a head coach yet but since one of their top candidates, Klint Kubiak, is Super Bowl bound, the expectation is that the Raiders are going all in on Kubiak. Outside of head coach, their biggest need is obvious: offensive line.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) had the Raiders’ offensive line graded as the worst unit in the NFL and cited center Jordan Meredith and right tackle DJ Glaze as the biggest weaknesses.
“While no other team gave up more than 35 sacks during the 2025 regular season, Las Vegas' offensive line surrendered 47 sacks. The unit's 79.3 PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating ranked dead last in the NFL.”
Left tackle Stone Forsythe, who filled in for standout left tackle Kolton Miller due to injury, allowed the most sacks in the league (11) with Glaze allowing the second-most (10). Before the offense can improve as a whole, the offensive line needs to be revamped.
Ex-Indianapolis Colt and free agent right tackle Braden Smith would improve the right side of the line exponentially and help protect the quarterback.
“He is a big-bodied drive blocker at 6-foot-6 and 312 pounds, easily matching power in pass protection,” ESPN’s Matt Bowen wrote Wednesday. “Injuries have been a concern, as Smith has missed 17 games over his past three seasons. He started 13 games at right tackle for the Colts in 2025, and his pass block win rate jumped 7% from 2024.”
While injuries are a concern, Smith has proven to be a reliable protector. He allowed just one sack and six hits on 26 pressures in 2025. The Colts will likely try to bring him back but expect the Raiders to be in on the eight-year pro this offseason.