Silver And Black Pride
From Red Raider to a Las Vegas Raider, diving into the offensive lineman’s game
The Las Vegas Raiders needed to add some depth to their offensive line during the 2025 NFL Draft, and third-round pick (98th overall) Caleb Rogers can certainly help solve that problem.
Part of what made the Texas Tech product an intriguing draft prospect is that he recorded at least one start at four out of five offensive line positions. He began this past season lining up at both guard spots before sticking at right tackle from Week 5 on. That experience could make him a valuable player off the bench in year one, as he can fill in for nearly any starter if the starter goes down.
But Rogers is more than just a backup. He has a few traits that are worth taking a look at, as he could step into an even bigger role down the line.
For starters, I’ll acknowledge that North Texas isn’t exactly a high-level opponent. But, of the film that was available to me, this game was the biggest sample of Rogers playing guard. So, we can at least get an idea of what he brings to the table as an interior lineman since the Raiders announced him as a guard.
One area where Rogers stands out in the running game is on down blocks. Texas Tech runs a trap or wham concept where he is responsible for the nose tackle.
At the point of contact, he has good leverage/knee bend to get his pads down and excellent hand placement, controlling the nose with his inside hand on the chest and washing the nose down by putting his outside hand on the hip. On top of that, Rogers keeps his feet moving through contact to push the defender from the frontside A-gap to the backside B-gap.
Granted, there is room for improvement on this rep as Rogers false steps initially and has his helmet on the defender’s back instead of in front of the defender. But that almost makes this rep even more encouraging, as he could be more effective with improved technique.
This next clip technically isn’t a down block since the Red Raiders call inside zone, where Rogers (lined up at right tackle this time) is originally responsible for climbing up to the backside linebacker. However, Iowa State has a stunt called where the backer crashes hard to the weak side of the formation while the nose tackle slants to the strong side.
The defense is trying to create some confusion up front, but Rogers picks up on it and immediately gets his eyes inside when the linebacker comes downhill. That allows the tackle to pick up the nose, and he has another quality block to kick the nose inside and create a backside cutback lane for the running back.
That’s impressive awareness and physicality to execute the block.
We’ll get another example of the Texas Tech product’s awareness as a run blocker, this time as a puller...
