What about the defensive front?
Maxx Crosby, in the three OTAs media watched, stretched with the team but did not practice as he continued his rehab from offseason knee surgery. And yet…
There is excitement in how he fits in the Raiders' new 3-4 base scheme and how much freedom he might have in it given that his old position coach is his new defensive coordinator in Rob Leonard.
Still, free-agent edge rusher Kwity Paye has been a quick study and bookend Malcolm Koonce has been a quicker-than-quick study, given his relationship and experience with Leonard, and rookie third-rounder Keyron Crawford, well, let's just say he flashed at times in 30% of OTAs.
The Raiders seemingly chose to address the secondary rather than the interior of the D-line in the draft - taking Arizona safeties Treydan Stukes and Dalton Johnson in the second and fifth rounds, respectively, and cornerbacks Jermod McCoy and Hezekiah Masses in the fourth and fifth rounds - but did select DT Brandon Cleveland in the seventh.
The Raiders may not have that prototypical massive nose tackle to clog up the middle in a 3-4 - free-agent signee Benito Jones comes close - but they obviously like what they have in the likes of Adam Butler, Thomas Booker IV, Tonka Hemingway, Jonah Laulu, JJ Pegues and maybe even Laki Tasi, the 6-foot-6, 373-pound project from the NFL's International Program to stay competitive in a fluid rotation.
Games are won and lost in the trenches and, beyond the quarterback, what happens on the lines during mandatory minicamp will set the tone for the rest of the offseason.