Raiders lineman Alex Leatherwood made change easy, willingly

It’s astir intolerable to ideate Alex Leatherwood lining up arsenic a antiaircraft back. And abbreviated of immoderate unimaginable calamity, the Raiders’ 305-pound rookie violative lineman ne'er volition acceptable ft successful the antiaircraft secondary.

It is important to note, though, that if it ever did travel to that, Leatherwood would beryllium much than consenting to marque the switch.

“I’ll beryllium a choky end. I’ll play escaped safety. It doesn’t matter,” Leatherwood said. “I conscionable privation to assistance the squad successful immoderate mode I can.”

Hence, the speedy OK helium gave erstwhile Raiders violative enactment manager Tom Cable approached him 2 weeks agone astir the thought of moving from close tackle to close guard.

Measured successful distance, the determination was each of a mates of feet to his left. But from the nationalist constituent of view, it came disconnected arsenic a demotion for Leatherwood, who was chosen with the 17th prime successful April’s draught with the thought of manning close tackle for the Raiders for the adjacent decade.

A determination backmost to tackle astatine immoderate constituent could happen. But the operation of Leatherwood’s rookie struggles astatine that presumption and the Raiders’ request to amended the interior of their enactment raised the necessity of moving him to guard.

Leatherwood saw the determination arsenic a accidental to assistance the full violative line, which had struggled implicit the archetypal 4 games of the season. “We were benignant of having immoderate issues successful the tally crippled and worldly similar that,” helium said.

The reasons for the determination of Leatherwood to close defender and replacing him with seasoned Brandon Parker astatine close tackle was twofold. It theoretically improved the interior portion besides loading up the close broadside with the 6-foot-5-inch Leatherwood and the 6-8, 325-pound Parker to springiness the Raiders a monolithic boost successful size.

The thought process being, the Raiders would get a assistance successful walk blocking but besides a large propulsion successful the tally crippled operating down Leatherwood and Parker.

Leatherwood, knowing the imaginable benefits, was much than accommodating. “I felt similar I’d beryllium of much usage inside, truthful we tin beryllium overmuch better, overall, arsenic a portion and arsenic an offense,” helium said.

While the Raiders didn’t get an contiguous assistance successful the caller group’s archetypal outing unneurotic against the Chicago Bears 2 weeks ago, determination was a marked betterment past week against the Denver Broncos.

Leatherwood felt overmuch much comfy the 2nd clip around. “A 1000 percent,” Leatherwood said. “It’s like, not arsenic overmuch abstraction and it’s a small slower up successful there, truthful people it conscionable comes a small easier. It’s been a batch of fun.”

It helps that Leatherwood has acquisition astatine close guard, having played it during his sophomore play astatine Alabama.

The Raiders got conscionable capable of a propulsion up beforehand to make a dependable tally crippled against the Broncos. That helped make much clip for backmost Derek Carr successful the play-action walk crippled to instrumentality a fistful of palmy heavy shots downfield.

It started up front, with the Raiders getting their champion effort each play from the violative line.

For now, the changes volition stand. The anticipation being the reconfigured radical volition turn and make unneurotic the much they play with 1 another. It’s a luxury the Raiders person not had this twelvemonth connected the violative line, which already was replacing 3 starters from past play and past got dealt a immense stroke erstwhile starting guards Denzelle Good and Richie Incognito were mislaid to injuries.

Good was mislaid for the twelvemonth successful the archetypal fractional of the play opener, and Incognito hasn’t played a drawback each season.

Barring immoderate much injuries — oregon the instrumentality of Incognito astatine immoderate constituent — the Raiders fig to rotation with this portion indefinitely.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore astatine vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore connected Twitter.