The 2021 season was a bit of a rollercoaster for Alex Leatherwood. He started the year as the team’s right tackle and he was quickly moved to guard. However, the move seemed to work as he performed much better at right guard as the season went on.
Leatherwood played all 80 snaps for the Raiders on offense in Week 18, allowing just one pressure. He did not surrender a sack and it was just a continuation of his strong play over the last month. Since Week 15, Leatherwood allowed only 10 pressures.
In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they talked about Leatherwood during his rookie season and how he performed at both tackle and guard. Here is a snippet of what the site had to say about the former Alabama star:
“Leatherwood finished his rookie season with a solid performance against the Chargers on Sunday Night Football and now gets to extend his year into the playoffs. He has generally been a disappointment on the offensive line, struggling badly at right tackle before moving inside to guard and enduring similar pains.
He has allowed 65 pressures across 708 pass-blocking snaps to finish the regular season with a 29.0 pass-blocking grade. Leatherwood allowed eight more pressures than any other guard in the league.”
Leatherwood might not be the right tackle of the future for the Raiders, but it does appear that he is on his way to becoming a quality guard. With all of his experience gained from the 2021 season, he could make a massive jump in 2022.
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