7/22/22: News, Notes, & Quotes from Raiders Day 2 training camp practice
The second day of training camp practice kicked off at around 8:30 am as we witnessed the players take the field for the second consecutive day.
If you followed my training camp journey yesterday, you would know that I primarily focused on the wide receivers.
Today, it was all about the offensive lineman--led by OT/OG Alex Leatherwood. The left side of the offensive line is pretty much set if you were to ask me.
LT Kolton Miller | 2018 R1 pick (No. 15)
LG John Simpson | 2020 R4 pick (No. 109)
OC Andre James | 2019 UDFA
OT Alex Leatherwood
The question marks are along the strong side.
Who plays RG?
Who plays RT?
That answer lies within OT Alex Leatherwood--the team’s 2021 R1 pick (No. 17). For those who are new to following me over the years, I developed my own grading-system when evaluating talent.
I don’t rely on PFF, I developed my own algorithm to determine the proper analysis. How credible is the analysis--check the #BEASTreceipt over the years and see for yourself. But back to Leatherwood--does he play RT or kick inside to RG?
When the Raiders kicked Leatherwood inside Week 5--it was an overnight success.
Through the next 3 games, Leatherwood quickly graded out as one of my risers:
Week 5: 7.0 | Chargers
Week 6: 6.0 | @Broncos
Week 7: 8.5 | Eagles
Total: 7.2 | Pro Bowl level
But Leatherwood wasn’t drafted to play on the interior--he was drafted to be a bookend tackle. Still, GM Dave Ziegler who comes from the Bill Belichick tree believes in fielding the “best five.”
Something I talked about earlier, the question remains, should Leatherwood be inside or outside? I believe Leatherwood should get a second shot to play right tackle--he’s young, talented, and strong at POA.
Year two is where a young player progresses the most anyway. Do you give up after year one or see what you have in year two? Another layer of the onion is this new offensive system--predicated on the power run not ZBS.
Despite my belief that Leatherwood is best suited inside, I still hold faith in that he can be a serviceable right tackle with pro bowl potential.
Below is a quick slant video of the Raiders OL as they work on fundamentals:
The wide receivers were on the short side of the field, so I had the opportunity to get some more video footage on Day 2. Below is a quick slant video of the WRs:
Post-Practice Pressers
CB Rock Ya-Sin
OC Mick Lombardi
OLB Chandler Jones
QB Derek Carr
After practice concluded, the four players/coaches above were made available for the media. Here is a quick slant video of each of the four, as we take the sound bites from today’s festivities…
OC Mick Lombardi
OLB Chandler Jones
As the Raiders continue their early training camp schedule thanks to the Hall of Fame Game, I’ll keep you updated on all things silver & black as I report straight from Raiders HQ:
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