Raiders offensive line to take center stage in joint practices

The Raiders have resisted any urge to play their projected starting offense in the preseason, choosing instead to use the three games to assess players and the functionality of position groups.

The offensive line and running back positions come to mind.

That’s all about to change when the Raiders welcome the Patriots to their practice facility for two joint workouts. The teams will practice against each other Tuesday and Wednesday before meeting in their preseason finales Friday at Allegiant Stadium.

“We have two days to beat each other up before the game,” Raiders defensive end Kendal Vickers said jokingly.

It’s much more entailed than that, of course. In many ways, what the Raiders glean from the extensive work against McDaniels’ former boss, Bill Belichick, could prove invaluable as McDaniels gets a better grip on where the Raiders stand as they installa new offense and defense.

“It’s going to test our ability to communicate on the field and solve problems without really a lot of preparation, which is a great opportunity for us to test where we are on that,” McDaniels said. “Just go out and really test where we’re at in terms of our overall ability as a unit to perform, whether it’s a special team unit, defensively, offensively.”

It also will be the first time McDaniels will see his projected offensive starters get in-depth work against the starters of an opposing team. While everyone’s first inclination is to think of Derek Carr, Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller, it’s important to note that left tackle Kolton Miller’s inclusion means the Raiders will finally get a first look at what could be their starting offensive line.

Not against their defensive teammates but the starters of another team.

That’s an important distinction. Until now, McDaniels has utilized game work against opponents to experiment along the offensive line while playing some linemen at multiple positions and getting long looks at swing tackle and right tackle candidates.

Miller, a Pro Bowl tackle, hasn’t been part of that process. But he’s expected to get a significant amount of work in the next two days, allowing McDaniels to get a much better look at the offensive line as a whole, rather than the mix and match it has been during preseason games.

It also means getting an extended look at the primary right tackle candidates — Alex Leatherwood and Jermaine Eluemunor among them — and perhaps Thayer Munford if he is cleared to return after missing time with an undisclosed injury.

With Miller not playing in the preseason, Eluemunor has started at left tackle the past two games to give coaches a chance to gauge him as a swing tackle. But his quickest path to playing time might be as the starting right tackle, where he has been drawing the most starting snaps since Brandon Parker and Munford were lost to injuries.

Eluemunor could take a majority of his snaps at that spot in the next two days, giving him a chance to state his case as the starter.

“I think all of us are going to benefit from going against someone else and going into that competition,” Eluemunor said.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.