Story by
Raiders 2026 NFL Combine: Interior Offensive Linemen Las Vegas Must Target to Protect Fernando Mendoza
- Story by
- Raiders 2026 NFL Combine: Interior Offensive Linemen Las Vegas Must Target to Protect Fernando Mendoza
It's been a broken record over the past decade: Raiders quarterbacks get destroyed behind a ragtag offensive line . We've watched promising seasons end in Week 4 because someone couldn't hold a block. Last year was the worst of it: they absorbed 64 sacks, finished dead last in rushing yards, and dead last in rushing touchdowns. The whole thing was a rolling disaster that didn't stop until the final whistle of the final game. And here they are in Indianapolis at the NFL Combine, about to draft a franchise quarterback with the first overall pick.
That's not a metaphor. That's a real problem that needs real answers.
Advertisement
Raiders Only Stalwart on OL: Kolton Miller
Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Kolton Miller is the anchor. I want to say that up front, because it needs to be said. When healthy, he's one of the best left tackles in the league. He allowed five pressures in four games before his ankle gave out last September. Five. In a season where the rest of the offensive line gave up 88 combined pressures just at the two tackle spots, Miller was the one guy who was actually doing his job. He'll be back in 2026. That part is settled.
Everything else? Not so settled.
Also Read:: Las Vegas Raiders 3-4 Defense: Edge Rushers to Watch at 2026 NFL Combine in Indianapolis
Jackson Powers-Johnson is a talented kid who got thrown into a mess last season, including being moved to guard under Pete Carroll, then shuffled back toward center depending on who was hurt. New head coach Klint Kubiak and offensive line coach Rick Dennison like JPJ's versatility, but they haven't committed to where he starts. DJ Glaze led the entire NFL in blown blocks last season with 54, 40 of them in pass protection. That number doesn't go away just because there's a new coach. Charles Grant and Caleb Rogers both showed flashes but combined for a handful of meaningful snaps.
Advertisement
"It's a work in progress," Kubiak said at the NFL Combine Wednesday.
No kidding.
So when the offensive linemen take the field Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Raiders have more reasons than almost anyone in this building to pay close attention. In Seattle, Kubiak ran a wide zone offense, and it's what he'll do in Vegas. That means linemen who are athletic, who can move laterally, who can get to the second level and make blocks in space. Not just big guys who can anchor. You need guys who can pull, reach and adjust. The system is more forgiving than a pure power scheme, but it still requires the right personnel.
This class has depth. Particularly in the Day 2 and Day 3 ranges, where the Raiders are going to be picking multiple times. Here's who I'll be watching this weekend at the NFL Combine and Raider Nation should too.
Advertisement
Gennings Dunker | OT/OG | Iowa
Iowa Hawkeyes offensive lineman Gennings Dunker (67) warms up before a football game against the Indiana Hoosiers Sept. 27, 2025 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.
Every mock draft with Las Vegas in it seems to land on Dunker at 33 , and honestly, it's not hard to see why. The Iowa product is 6-5 and 316 pounds, a nasty, physical run blocker who plays through the whistle the way you want interior linemen to play. He went viral at the Senior Bowl, not for his athleticism, but for his personality and the way his teammates gravitated toward him. That stuff matters in a locker room.
Dunker is being evaluated as both a guard and a tackle , which is actually a plus for a team with questions at multiple positions. His athleticism might not be elite (watch his 40 and his agility numbers Sunday to calibrate exactly how high his ceiling goes), but his 82.0 PFF grade and his film as a run blocker suggest a starting-caliber player. If Kubiak's wide zone system needs someone who can fire off the ball and move defenders off their feet, Dunker fits. The Raiders pick at 33. This one makes a lot of sense.
Monroe Freeling | OT | Georgia
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Freeling is the outlier on this list. He's legitimately a first-round talent and ESPN's Jordan Reid has him in his top 15 overall . The reason he shows up here is that his stock has been climbing so fast that he might outprice himself, but if the combine lands the way evaluators expect, he's worth watching as a late first-round possibility who addresses a real need.
Advertisement
He's 6-7 and 315 pounds, and at that size he moves like someone who's 6-2. His footwork, his mirroring ability, his transitions in pass protection — all of it is advanced. This is the prototype left tackle the Raiders don't have a problem at, but the prototype right tackle who could finally give them something more reliable than what DJ Glaze has shown. Freeling will be the headliner Sunday when OL workouts start at 1 p.m. ET. If his testing matches the tape, he's gone before Las Vegas picks at 33. But it's worth knowing his name.
Blake Miller | OT | Clemson
Ken Ruinard / USA Today Co Inc SC / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Miller is 6-5 and 315 pounds out of Clemson with four years of starting experience at right tackle and an 83.5 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2025. He's athletic, he's experienced, and he posted the kind of numbers that translate to the next level. The question teams are asking is whether he's a tackle or a guard in the NFL. His athleticism says maybe tackle, his size says maybe guard. Either answer works for the Raiders.
Here's the thing about Miller that I keep coming back to: Kubiak needs linemen who can execute in a zone scheme, and Miller's tape at Clemson shows a guy who can move. He's not going to dominate power rushers, but in a system that asks offensive linemen to use angles and footwork instead of brute strength, he's a fit. He's projected in the late first to mid-second range. The Raiders could be picking up the phone.
Advertisement
Emmanuel Pregnon | OG/OT | Oregon
Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Pregnon doesn't get talked about enough in national coverage, but the Raiders should be paying attention. He's a tough, mean, and nasty blocker. The description I've heard more than once from evaluators is "plays through the whistle to bury his assignments." At Oregon, he was reliable as a run blocker, a genuine people mover who is physically dominant at the point of attack. The pass protection is still developing, but the aggression and the motor are real.
In Kubiak's wide zone scheme, you need linemen who want to hurt the defense. Pregnon is that guy. He's likely a Day 2 selection (second or third round) and represents exactly the kind of interior depth upgrade the Raiders need. Watch his positional drills at the NFL Combine on Sunday. If he moves well for his size, his stock moves.
Advertisement
Fa'alili Fa'amoe | OT/OG | Wake Forest
Credit: USA Today
This is the deep-value name on this list, and the one most Raiders fans probably haven't heard. Fa'amoe is 6-5 and 314 pounds and spent multiple productive seasons at right tackle in the Pac-12 before transferring to Wake Forest . The projection for the NFL is guard, where his size and physicality will be an asset without requiring the lateral movement of an outside tackle. He's a projected second- or third-round pick who could have gone earlier had he declared after 2024.
For a team that needs to build depth at multiple interior positions, Fa'amoe is the kind of player who could compete for a starting spot immediately or slide into a valuable swing role. His NFL Combine measurements, especially arm length, will matter a lot in how teams view his tackle viability. But even if he lands inside, you're getting a starter.
Advertisement
The offensive linemen work out on Sunday, and it's the last position group at the 2026 NFL combine. Don't let that fool you into thinking it's an afterthought. For the Raiders, it might be the most important day of the week.
Fernando Mendoza is talented. He has a real arm, he processes quickly, and he's got the upside to become something special. But every quarterback who's ever taken a hit he didn't see coming, every young passer who's been knocked out of a rhythm because the pocket collapsed — all of that happened because the offensive line couldn't do its job.
The Raiders know that story. They lived it last year.
Related Headlines
