clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Raiders thought to be favories to land OL Kelechi Osemele

New, comments

The Raiders are said to be the early favorites for the services of versatile stud offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Raiders as we all know have money to burn and holes to fill and according to a recent tweet by Fox Sports' NFL insider Mike Garafalo have emerged as the favorites for the premier offensive lineman on the market, Kelechi Osemele.

As our own Levi Damien pointed out earlier today, the Raiders have no trouble shelling out huge numbers for quality offensive lineman as many teams have recently shown that a quality line is the quickest and surest way to a quality team. $10M+ for Osemele is really a drop in the bucket for Oakland, but would be a major stumbling block to many of the other teams who want Osemele (and there are many).

The issue I see here is that $10M is really big money for a right guard, but average money for a left tackle. Osemele grades out as one of the finest right guards in the game, but as an average left tackle. Would be take that number to play right guard in Oakland, or could he get more from another team to be their anchor left tackle?

The Raiders may best be served to blow Osemele away with an offer and worry about his position later. If they don't feel he can fully man LT, they can always sign Russell Okung or take a tackle in the first round of the draft. Either way, a player of Osemele's caliber could make the offensive line go from good to elite very quickly.