Silver And Black Pride
How does Las Vegas’ young group stack up to the rest of the division?
We’re wrapping up the offensive position groups in Silver and Black Pride’s AFC West positional rankings by taking a look at the trenches. Heading into the 2025 season, the Las Vegas Raiders’ offensive line is a young group overall that has a few question marks. But that seems to be a theme within the division, so how does the Raiders’ unit stack up?
All projected starters below are based on the depth charts on OurLads.com.
Projected Starters: Rashawn Slater (LT), Bradley Bozeman (LG), Zion Johnson (C), Mekhi Becton (RG), Joe Alt (RT)
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that a Jim Harbaugh-coached team has the top-ranked offensive line heading into the campaign. Harbaugh has made it a point to invest in the trenches since taking over last season. Hence, using his 2024 first-round pick on Alt, who was an impressive rookie a year ago, and signing Mekhi Becton to a two-year, $20 million contract in free agency this offseason after Becton revived his career last year. That’s in addition to a two-time Pro Bowler, Slater, headlining the group.
Granted, the Chargers do have question marks at center and left guard, as Johnson and Bozeman are currently expected to switch positions. Also factoring into the mix is Trey Pipkins III, who exclusively lined up at tackle during his first five years in Los Angeles but took over 700 snaps at right guard last season.
Projected Starters: Garrett Bolles (LT), Ben Powers (LG), Luke Wattenberg (C), Quinn Meinerz (RG), Mike McGlinchey (RT)
It’s a close call between Los Angeles and Denver for the top offensive line in the division, and part of the reason why the Broncos’ unit is so highly regarded is that it’s the only one in the AFC West that is projected to have the same five starters from the year before. Continuity is a big factor in the trenches, giving this group a boost.
Meinerz has become the star of the trenches in the Mile High City, earning first-team All-Pro honors last year. Meanwhile, Bolles has been a good left tackle for a while and is coming off a campaign where he allowed just 20 pressures on 671 snaps in pass protection, per Pro Football Focus. McGlinchey is in a similar boat as a solid player who only gave up 18 pressures with 534 pass pro snaps a year ago.
Granted, the Broncos could afford to upgrade at left guard and center, but both Powers and Wattenberg posted slightly above-average grades from PFF in 2024 to at least be servicable.
The only reason why the Chargers are in the top spot is that they have more high-end talent at the two tackle spots.
Projected Starters: Kolton Miller (LT), Dylan Parham (LG), Jackson Powers-Johnson (C), Alex Kappa (RG), DJ Glaze (RT)
As mentioned above, the Raiders' offensive line is...
