Las Vegas Raider offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood (70) is shown during an off-season practice at the Raiders practice facility in Henderson Wednesday, June 2, 2021.
Friday, July 30, 2021 | 2 a.m.
Since Jon Gruden returned as head coach of the Raiders four years ago, he has been on a quest to build his ideal offense around a pair of bookend tackles. Now that rookie Alex Leatherwood is in the fold, it might be mission accomplished.
Leatherwood, the No. 17 pick out of Alabama, was chosen with the expectation that he would be ready to open the season as Las Vegas’ starting right tackle, and through the first two training camp practices the team seems satisfied with his progress toward that goal.
Though the 6-foot-6, 312-pounder was heralded in college for his powerful run-blocking ability, Leatherwood has most impressed Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson with his processing speed.
After Thursday’s practice, Olson touted the rookie for how quickly he has familiarized himself with the playbook.
“Alex Leatherwood, very intelligent guy. He’s picked it up very quickly,” Olson said. “We’ve probably installed over 400 plays in two days, and very limited mental reps. We had him in rookie camp for three days and [he had] very few if any mental errors.”
The Raiders are looking for Leatherwood to be a long-term solution at right tackle after whiffing spectacularly on Trent Brown. Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock gave Brown $36.75 million guaranteed in 2019, the largest free-agent contract for an offensive lineman at the time, but injuries limited him to 16 games over two seasons.
Gruden and Mayock traded Brown back to New England shortly after the 2020 season ended, then used a first-round pick on Leatherwood to correct the mistake. If Leatherwood lives up to expectations, the Raiders will be set at both tackle positions for a long time, as they just extended left tackle Kolton Miller for three more years ($42.5 million guaranteed).
Leatherwood and Miller are both under contract through the 2025 season.
Veteran blocker Denzelle Good, who projects to start next to Leatherwood at right guard, likes what he has seen from his new wingman, especially when it comes to studying the game.
“I’m very impressed,” Good said. “He’s super athletic. His mental game, he’s always working to improve something. He’s always communicating with me about what he can do better. Sometimes I have to remind him, ‘You don’t have to do everything, everything ain’t on you. I’m here, I’ve got your back, we’ve all got your back.’ I really like him. He’s a good guy.”
Leatherwood looked like a promising rookie in Thursday’s practice, which is to say there was some good and some room for improvement.
In a pass-rushing drill toward the end of practice, Leatherwood held up well against defensive end Maxx Crosby on one rep, but got beaten by Crosby the next time they faced off. Leatherwood then let defensive end Gerri Green slice past him largely unobstructed.
After the drill concluded, Crosby and veteran tackle Sam Young took Leatherwood aside for a moment, apparently offering pointers.
Of course, it’s Day 2 of training camp and the team has not practiced in pads yet, so it’s difficult to evaluate the play of the offensive line.
Olson thinks Leatherwood will continue to catch on quickly.
“You just have a conversation with him about football and you realize this guy is an intelligent football player,” Olson said. “He’s looked very athletic as well. We’re very excited about his start. We haven’t put the pads on, that tempers those high expectations you have, but he’s looked very good out here in shorts.”
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
