Heading into their second preseason game, there aren’t many starting jobs open for the Raiders. For the most part, the starting lineup is set and most players are competing for backup jobs and roles.
However, the one spot that has the most question marks is at right tackle. Brandon Parker has taken the most snaps at that spot during camp, but he struggled in a big way during the Hall of Fame game. Alex Leatherwood has the highest draft pedigree, but he hasn’t lived up to his first-round status.
In a recent article by ESPN’s 32 beat writers, they were all asked to write about how each team’s biggest camp battle is going so far. For the Raiders, that spot is at right tackle. Here is a snippet of what senior writer Paul Gutierrez had to say about the offensive line battle:
“Brandon Parker, who had been running with the first-team offense at right tackle throughout camp, started at left tackle in place of the resting Kolton Miller in the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday night. And Alex Leatherwood, last year’s first-round pick who was moved inside to right guard after just four games, got the start at right tackle.
Leatherwood did not embarrass himself, but Parker struggled, giving up a pair of sacks. Asked if Parker playing a different position might have been part of the problem, coach Josh McDaniels bristled, saying that can’t be part of the problem.”
It’s worth mentioning that Gutierrez also suggested that the Raiders could be in the market for a veteran offensive tackle as the team has a ton of available cap space. But would they be interested in adding anyone soon or do they want Parker and Leatherwood to continue to fight for the job? That remains to be seen.
Parker appears to be the favorite to win the job, but Leatherwood did outperform him in the first preseason game. If Leatherwood has another strong performance this weekend, maybe he can steal his starting job back.