Raiders minicamp: Pete Carroll hoping reconfigured offensive line pays dividends

New York Times

12-06-2025

HENDERSON, Nev. — Despite having one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL last season, the Las Vegas Raiders opted against making a significant investment in the position group this offseason.
Though they signed free-agent veteran guard Alex Cappa and drafted offensive tackle Charles Grant and guard Caleb Rogers in the third round, Cappa is the only one expected to play a significant role in 2025. The Raiders are banking on offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and offensive line coach Brennan Carroll being able to develop and scheme up the unit.
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'They've done a really solid job,' head coach Pete Carroll said Thursday. 'They've really worked on their technique. … BC's done a really nice job of getting all these guys to look uniform. They step really well. The hand placement is really good. The communication seems to be sharp. Chip's got a really in-depth, busy plan that we ask these guys to embrace.
'Fortunately, Geno (Smith) is kind of the run coordinator on the field, and he changes things and does the things that we need to do. All of that has worked together really well. So, it looks like a good, solid group. … It's very competitive, and we feel like we have some depth. Going into (training) camp is really when we'll know what's happening.'
🔴📽️ Live: Pete Carroll, Alex Cappa, DJ Glaze and Raheem Mostert address the media from the Intermountain Health Performance Center. https://t.co/m1HX5BTn9N
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) June 12, 2025
Left tackle Kolton Miller, left guard Dylan Parham, center Jackson Powers-Johnson and right tackle DJ Glaze were starters in the group that struggled last year. The Raiders are optimistic they can get more out of all four.
Miller missed most of the 2024 offseason after undergoing shoulder surgery and wasn't himself once the season began. He's now fully healthy, and it's reasonable to expect him to be better this year.
Powers-Johnson bounced around from left guard to center and right guard. He's now focusing solely on center — getting in better shape and improving his technique — and could be primed for a Year 2 leap.
That's also a possibility for Glaze, who was decent as a rookie but needs to get more consistent both as a run and pass blocker.
'I'm just really trying to slow everything down,' Glaze said Thursday. 'I'm seeing the game one play at a time. … That helps me play faster. I'm not trying to think about too many things at once. I'm not trying to be perfect. Mistakes are going to happen.'
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The staff believes he has made progress in OTAs.
'I thought he had a really, really good offseason with us,' Pete Carroll said. 'He looks like he's ready to go. He's a second-year guy, but guys go from Year 1 to Year 2, and they have the ability to make a big jump.'
Parham likely is what he is at this point — a solid player — and he could be pushed for his starting role. Jordan Meredith, who also started multiple games last season, has been in the mix at left guard.
So has Thayer Munford. Parham didn't practice Thursday due to an undisclosed reason, and Munford stepped in as the first-string left guard. Munford spent his first two years with the Raiders playing left and right tackle, but he did start games at guard in college. He's someone to keep an eye on as another option.
At right guard, on the other hand, Cappa seems likely to be the starter. He has played poorly the last two seasons and battled multiple injuries, so the Raiders are hoping he can produce a bounce-back season.
Pete Carroll also made sure to mention offensive tackle Laki Tasi, who signed with the Raiders this offseason through the NFL International Player Pathway Program. The native Australian grew up playing rugby but had never played organized football before joining the team. He initially started out at defensive tackle but flipped to offensive tackle. He is 6-foot-6, 369 pounds, is athletic and moves well. The coaching staff thinks he's a long-term project worth keeping around.
'My favorite guy out there to watch is Laki Tasi,' Pete Carroll said. 'He knows nothing about football when he walks in the door, and he's made tremendous progress. He's enormous. He's the biggest guy you ever saw. … I don't know how long it's going to take, but he started from ground zero and he's made a lot of progress so far.'
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Collectively, the offensive line's biggest area in need of improvement is run blocking. That was the primary reason the Raiders had the worst rushing offense in the league last season. The line didn't do a good job of adjusting to former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy's zone-based blocking scheme. Kelly also runs a zone-based blocking scheme, but the Raiders are hoping the long-time coordinator and Brennan Carroll can teach it more effectively.
'It's a versatile offense,' Cappa said Thursday. 'At the beginning, that's kind of hard — just learning it all. … We put everything in right away. Right away, we had a full offense going. And the way he calls it is a little different than other people. But it's dynamic, for sure. Once you understand it, it allows you to operate at a high level.'
Running back Ashton Jeanty should be a major upgrade, but even someone as talented as him can only be so effective without quality blocking.
'You've got to run the ball to be able to win the game, and that's been impressed on us every single day,' Powers-Johnson said last week. 'I see it as an opportunity to get those numbers up and put a lot of the responsibility on the offensive line.'
Of course, protecting Smith will also be pivotal. One of the biggest reasons his play lagged the last couple of seasons with the Seattle Seahawks was that the team was terrible in pass protection. Much like Jeanty, he's a massive upgrade over what they had at his position last year, but he can still be hampered if the line isn't up to snuff.
Brennan Carroll spent the last four years as an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Arizona and Washington, but this is his first time being an O-line coach at the NFL level. He has kept his approach simple. Pads aren't allowed in OTAs, so much of the focus has been on installing the system, sharpening fundamentals and establishing an identity for the room.
'We want to be the attitude of the offense. We want to be reliable and trustworthy,' Brennan Carroll said last month. 'The group's been fantastic. It's a group that really works well together.'
Here are some other observations from practice on Thursday, the final session of mandatory minicamp.
• The defense maintained its advantage over the offense at practice Thursday. The play of the day came during 11-on-11 drills when Smith had a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage and picked off by defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway, who was working with the second-team defense. Smith got some revenge toward the end of practice with a nice throw to receiver Tre Tucker for a touchdown. Overall, though, the defense outplayed the offense through mandatory minicamp.
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• The Raiders agreed to terms with linebacker Germaine Pratt on Wednesday, but he wasn't officially signed in time to practice Thursday. His first opportunity to practice with the team will come in training camp.
'He's a really hard-nosed kid,' Carroll said. 'We've been really pleased with Elandon (Roberts). He did a great job of taking over the leadership position and calling everything. And Devin (White) has done a really nice job, too. To put these three guys together … that's a loaded-up group. They're all tough, they're all physical and they're all downhill players, which is the style that we love to play with.'
• In addition to defensive tackle Christian Wilkins (foot), Parham and receiver Alex Bachman didn't practice Thursday. They were present but didn't participate in any drills.
• The vibes were high at team headquarters throughout OTAs, with the coaching staff and players meshing together quickly. That's not a surprise given Carroll's track record of instilling a positive culture at both USC and with the Seahawks, but it's a welcome development for those involved given the constant turnover within the franchise in recent years.
'We expect them to be on every day,' Carroll said. 'And then the coaches have to make sure we drive the energy. And so, if I'm expecting that, then I've got to do that, too. … They have embraced it.'
The Raiders will reconvene for training camp in late July. They'll hold the entirety of camp in Henderson, Nev., despite Carroll previously stating an intent to move camp to Napa, California.
'These next six weeks are huge,' Carroll said. 'These guys have come back in great shape. I challenged every one of them to be in the best shape of their life. If they want to make the most of this opportunity, they need to go with that thought. … We'll see what happens when we return.'
(Photo of Jackson Powers-Johnson: Candice Ward / Imagn Images)