Free agency is set to start in early March and the Raiders have some work to be done before it begins. Three of their starting five offensive linemen are scheduled to become free agents (Andre James, Greg Van Roten, Jermaine Eleumunor) and it’s unlikely that they will be able to retain them all.
But if the Raiders can’t bring back all of these players, who might be an option for them to target in free agency?
In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they took a look at the top offensive linemen scheduled to hit the market. One name that was mentioned was Kevin Dootson, the starting right guard of the Rams. Here is why they believe he could be an excellent fit for the Raiders:
Dotson earned himself a lot of money in 2023 following a trade to the Los Angeles Rams, earning a career-high 88.8 run-blocking grade. While his pass blocking dipped compared to prior years, a 68.3 mark serving as a career low is a pretty strong floor.
New Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy gets labeled as a Shanahan/LaFleur tree guy because of his time in Green Bay, but he runs more of a shotgun-heavy, RPO-offense with a lot of inside-zone principles, similar to the Rams’ offense in 2023, which could make this a strong fit at a position of need.
Dotson is a powerful guard who has no problem driving defenders off the line of scrimmage. If the Raiders are looking to get stronger and more physically up front, Dotson could be an excellent free-agent target.
