Raiders’ rebuilt offensive line making strides in camp

The 34 years Tom Cable has been a football coach created more than enough thick skin to withstand the inevitable rebuild that was coming along his offensive line.

With the Raiders up against the salary cap heading into the offseason and nearly $40 million tied into three of his players, change was certainly in the air.

Hence Cable barely blinked when the Raiders traded Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson and Trent Brown last March, blowing open holes at center, right guard and right tackle.

“You get used to it,” Cable said of the roster turnover. “It’s not the first time for me being through it.”

It helped that he had a couple of aces up his sleeve. There was young center Andre James, who had spent the previous two seasons toiling away in Cable’s classroom while making the transition from college tackle to NFL center, and Alabama tackle Alex Leatherwood, who Cable was confident would be on the draft board when the Raiders picked 17th in the first round.

In James, who had been working diligently behind the scenes, Cable knew the Raiders had an in-house candidate to soften the blow from the loss of Hudson. His time was coming fast, and Cable expressed as much to Raiders head coach Jon Gruden when the possibility of dealing Hudson was discussed.

“You don’t move on from a guy like Rodney unless you know that you’ve got something in place already,” Cable said. “If you’ve got to go get it, whether that be free agency or the draft, I think you’re leaving yourself open for failure.”

The Leatherwood selection was years in the making, with Cable spotting him along the Alabama offensive line three years ago and then keeping an eye on him throughout the remainder of his career.

The deeper Cable dug into Leatherwood, the more convinced he was that he was exactly what the Raiders needed to replace Brown, who played just 16 of 32 possible games during his two seasons with the Raiders and frustrated the coaching staff throughout the 2020 season by completing just four of the five starts he was able to make.

“What we were looking for was a guy that would play every down at right tackle for us and be available all the time,” Cable said. “Someone who was really highly, highly competitive. Where he came from, and that program, that’s kind of a way of life for those kids.”

It’s far too early to make a definitive call on Leatherwood, but he has impressed everybody in the building with his professionalism and diligence. All of which affirm Cable’s initial impressions.

“I wanted someone that would be here every day. That you can count on. That loved the game like the rest of them do,” Cable said.

In turn, Leatherwood has made a few other positive impressions.

“Sometimes he can be even a little bit nerdy, which is cool for an O-linemen,” Cable said. “I don’t have to worry about him raising hell or doing this or doing that. He’s a pretty focused guy. That went into selecting him.

“This was a guy that really cared about football. Extreme competitor. I think that was probably my number one characteristic that I loved about him. That he loved to play. And that he loves to be great. As he fails, he learns. And that’s the really cool part.”

Leatherwood has fit right in at right tackle, and James appears to have seized his role as the starting center. There is plenty of familiarity at the other three spots, where left tackle Kolton Miller, left guard Richie Incognito and right guard Denzelle Good have all established themselves as reliable players.

It’s made for a comfortable rebuild thus far.

“Probably exceeding what we were hoping for this early in camp,” Cable said.

The true test comes over the next few months. Most notably at the start of the season when the Raiders face notoriously physical defenses against the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers.

“September is really going to be a challenge for them,” Cable said. “But I like that. And I think they’re looking forward to it.” Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.