Oakland Raiders: For Kolton Miller, the future may come sooner than expected

The Oakland Raiders made Kolton Miller a first-round pick with an eye toward the future – however, that future may have come early.

When Oakland Raiders HC Jon Gruden made UCLA tackle Kolton Miller the fifteenth overall pick in the draft, it raised a lot of eyebrows. But, given the absolute and critical need to protect franchise signal caller Derek Carr, it made sense on some levels.

Some still believe they took him too high and/or didn’t get nearly enough compensation from Arizona for sliding back to fifteen, but that’s another debate for another day.

Most assumed that Miller would start off his Raiders career by perhaps finally securing the right side of the line. The right tackle spot has been a blight on this otherwise stellar Raiders offensive line for years. Miller, most thought, might finally address that blight.

Having spent a season (or maybe two, depending on the health/effectiveness of stalwart Donald Penn), the thought was that at some point in the not too distant future, Miller would slide on over to the left to be Carr’s blindside protector.

If the early indicators out of the offseason program mean anything (which, they admittedly, might not), that future could be here. Now.

At the recently concluded rookie minicamp, Miller worked exclusively on the left side of the line – or, you know, Penn’s spot.

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Now, admittedly, this could be reading way too deep into the tea leaves, and it might not mean anything at all – but, to a skeptical eye, Miller’s work on the left, combined with Gruden’s subsequent praise, in a certain light, it could look like the team is already preparing for life after Penn.

Penn, 35-years old, and continuing to rehab from surgery for a Lisfranc injury, has been Carr’s steady and consistent blindside protector the last four seaasons. Over those four seasons, Penn started 62 of a possible 64 games for the Silver and Black – the only two games he missed being final two last year after sustaining his foot injury.

The Raiders have a glaring need for an upgrade at right tackle. The combination of Jylan Ware, David Sharpe, Breno Giacomini, and third-round draft pick Brandon Parker, doesn’t exactly inspire a ton of confidence.

Which is what could force Gruden’s hand.

However, what if – and this is obviously only spitballing – one of Oakland’s excess linemen steps up and proves to be serviceable on the right? What if Penn isn’t nearly as sharp when he returns from rehab? What if Miller turns out to be flat-out dominant at the position as camp goes on?

Would that conceivable change Gruden’s thinking about Penn and Miller?

With Penn coming off surgery, at an “advanced” age for his position, as well as carrying a decently sized cap charge, could that pave the way for Gruden to part ways with the longtime lineman?

While it’s true, the team would incur a little more than three million dollars in dead money, they would also save another five million against the cap. At this stage of the game, it seems a given that Oakland will shed Penn’s ten million dollar salary next season – and incur no dead money in the process.

But, if Miller is all they hope he can be, does it make it more likely they opt to go the, “a penny saved is a penny earned” route this year and clear that five million in cap space now?

For now, Gruden is saying all the right things in regard to Penn, a respected veteran presence. Sort of. Kind of. If you cock your head, and squint at it in a dimly lit room.

"“Donald Penn is still on our football team and he’s still rehabbing his foot injury. He has been a very good player for the Raiders, a guy that I coached in Tampa, know extremely well, but this has nothing to do with Donald Penn. This is about the future of the Oakland Raiders, we have an outstanding young quarterback, we have a need at the position, and we’re very fortunate to address it, but it doesn’t really say anything to Donald Penn.”"

It’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of Penn’s current status, let alone his future with the team. In truth, it’s a very non-committal answer filled with all kinds of wiggle room and weasel words.

Then compare and contrast those words, with Gruden’s recent statements on Miller.

"“That’s where he has recently played. We like him at left tackle. We think he’s a prototype left tackle. He can bend; he’s got the length that you’re looking for and he’s a sharp kid. That doesn’t mean that’s where they’re going to end up, though.”"

For his part, Penn wasn’t exactly thrilled with the fact the team used first and third-round picks on tackles, taking to Twitter to make his displeasure known, in a since deleted Tweet.