The 2023 season was a career year for Van Roten. He started all 17 games at right guard for the Raiders, earning a 75.3 overall Pro Football Focus grade, which ranked seventh among all guards in the NFL. Van Roten surrendered only five sacks and 21 pressures this past season.
Bricillo got the most out of Van Roten, a former undrafted free agent who has been in the league bouncing from team to team since 2012. Primarily a backup journeyman throughout his career, Van Roten excelled under Bricillo and may feel motivated to reunite with his offensive line coach in New York next season.
The 33-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and could fill a need for the Giants up front. While Big Blue has its starting left tackle and center pinned down (Andrew Thomas and John Michael Schmitz, respectively), the guard positions are open for the taking. Van Roten could potentially compete for one of the Giants’ two starting guard spots next season.
The Giants have still not solved their issues at right tackle as Evan Neal continued to struggle in his second season prior to having season-ending surgery. Neal’s right tackle job will likely be open to competition next season as it’s clear that the G-Men can’t simply bank on Neal to take that step forward.
Instead, the Giants could target Raiders offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor in free agency to add some competition to the right tackle position. Eluemunor started 14 games for the Raiders last season at right tackle, allowing just six sacks and 28 total pressures en route to a 68.5 overall PFF grade (ranking 35/84 at the tackle position).
Eluemunor is a player who has worked under Bricillo on two separate occasions in his career. Before Bricillo came over to Las Vegas to coach the Raiders in 2022, he was with the New England Patriots from 2019 to 2021. Eluemunor was a member of the Patriots’ offensive line from 2019 to 2020. Maybe Eluemunor and Bricillo will reunite once again this offseason.
Another undrafted free agent who started for the Raiders this season was center Andre James. While the Giants don’t really have a need for a new starting center, it wouldn’t hurt to add affordable depth to the interior of their offensive line.
James also had a career year under Bricillo in 2023, earning a 74.6 overall PFF grade after allowing just four sacks and 19 pressures this season. An undrafted free agent in 2019, James has been with the Raiders since the start of his career, going from backup to starter within a few seasons.
This offseason, James will be a free agent, and while he will likely be looking for a starting job somewhere, the Giants could be suitors if the market doesn’t come to fruition. James is the least likely addition of the three Raiders free agents due to John Michael Schmitz’s presence on the roster. However, James could be a potential target as depth or injury insurance.