Las Vegas Raiders

Raiders linemen are absolutely gushing over one teammate's potential

Published Aug. 11, 2015 12:52 a.m. ET

foxsports

Mike Tice already thinks Gabe Jackson could be a rising star on the Raiders' line.

He's not the only one in those meeting rooms that thinks so, either.

"I'm smiling talking about Gabe because Gabe doesn't know how good he can be," left tackle Donald Penn told Silver & Black Pride. "He's a great player. I love playing next to him."

There's not much to dislike about Jackson's potential. He has the size (6-foot-3, 335 pounds) to maul interior linemen in the run game. And according to Pro Football Focus, he's already the 14th best pass-blocking guard in pro football.

Statistically speaking, Jackson might already be the Raiders' best lineman. That includes new pick-up Rodney Hudson, who landed a big contract to play center in Oakland but called the young guard a "really good player."

Penn took that a step further in his own analysis.

"I feel like he's gonna be one of the top left guards in this league to come because he has that much potential," he said. "And he's a good guy and a good player and I can't wait until (the season) to play next to him."

(h/t Silver & Black Pride)