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Mitchell Schwartz was chosen by Cleveland in the second round of the 2012 draft with the idea he could be the next Joe Thomas , or at the very least learn from the Browns' star offensive tackle.Well, he did learn a lot of lessons. The biggest may have been durability.Thomas once played 10,363 consecutive snaps over the span of 11 seasons before hurting his left arm in a game against Tennessee. The streak that began with Week 1 of his rookie year and survived a slew of injuries, including torn and strained knee ligaments and multiple high ankle sprains.Schwartz, who returns to Cleveland for the first time on the opposing sideline Sunday, has his own incredible streak going now that he's with the Kansas City Chiefs.After playing every snap his first four seasons with the Browns, and continuing it during the past two-plus seasons in Kansas City, the snap count is up to 6,870 over the course of 104 games."He's done a heck of a job being able to endure," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "He had a good teacher he learned from, too, in Thomas. He had a nice streak going before he got hurt. Mitch has been tremendous. He's one of the smartest linemen I've ever been around."Schwartz filled a massive need when the Chiefs signed him to a $33 million , five-year deal, and he has met all expectations. Not only did he help protect Alex Smith during some of his best years, and is now keeping young quarterback Patrick Mahomes clean during his breakout season, Schwartz also paved the way for Kareem Hunt to win last year's NFL rushing title as a rookie.So far, the Chiefs have allowed just 10 sacks — one behind the New Orleans Saints for the fewest in the league — while leading the NFL in scoring and a number of other offensive categories. Delving deeper into the numbers, the Chiefs have a league-high 13 carries of at least 10 yards while running behind Schwartz on the right side of the offensive line.In other words, the soft-spoken Schwartz is a big reason why Mahomes leads the NFL in yards passing and Hunt is fourth in the league in yards rushing."Those two tackles are really good players, Schwartz and (left tackle Eric) Fisher. They're the best we've played since I've been here," Broncos coach Vance Joseph said. "They've blocked us one-on-one from time to time and they win a lot against us."That may be the most incredible part of Schwartz's success rate: It has come against some of the best pass rushers in the NFL, including Broncos linebackers Von Miller and Bradley Chubb.Elsewhere in the AFC West, he has to deal with the Chargers' Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa, and until this past offseason , Raiders star Khalil Mack and his teammate Bruce Irvin."I've been very blessed and fortunate to play and coach with a number of offensive linemen, and those guys never get the credit that they deserve," Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said. "They get all the negative flack when they give up a sack or something, but those guys are the ultimate team players because they are going to do whatever it takes to win."Even if it means playing through bumps and bruises to keep a consecutive snaps streak going.Schwartz acknowledged this week that it will be odd returning to Cleveland, where he learned from one of the best offensive tackles to ever play the game. He has good memories from playing with the Browns, even if they never won enough, and he's looking forward to seeing some old friends.Once the game begins, though, Schwartz is only worried about helping Kansas City keep winning."We just keep trusting. No one gets upset, starts screaming or any of that stuff," Schwartz said. "We're a pretty good offense and if we go out there and do our jobs, it's pretty hard to stop us."Notes: Strong safety Eric Berry (heel) , C Mitch Morse (concussion) and LB Frank Zombo (hamstring) did not practice Thursday. LBs Justin Houston (hamstring) and Anthony Hitchens (ribs) were limited.Offseason Refresher Course: Oakland Raiders In a time of the game where being younger and attempting to stockpile sure-fire has become the norm, Jon Gruden has decided take a path less traveled.Throughout this past free agency period, it seemed as if Gruden had a soft spot in his heart for older players whose primes came and went four or five years ago. A good chunk of the players they signed are on the wrong side of 30 years old and everyone in the league has taken notice of the trend. Most find themselves unable to resist cracking the occasional joke that Gruden is attempting to put together a star-studded team.....if it was 2008.I know a lot of us here at BFTB have seen some of the additions as they happened and immediately cringed out of disbelief. We can’t help but ask ourselves what the Raiders are thinking and feel bad for the fan base.But then we remember that they’re the Raiders, and this is amazing, and we are actually super excited about seeing Gruden take the team down this path to nowhere.Let’s focus on the positives, people.OffenseThe Raiders came into the NFL Draft with an obvious plan and that was to beef up the offensive line in order to better protect quarterback Derek Carr against several elite pass-rushers that reside in the AFC West. With their first-round pick, they selected uber-athletic offensive tackle Kolton Miller out of UCLA who looks to be slotted in at the right tackle position. With their first of two third-round selections, Gruden selected Brandon Parker, an offensive tackle out of North Carolina A&T who went his entire collegiate career without giving up a single sack.The wide receiver room got a complete makeover as the Raiders replaced Michael Crabtree with the likes of Jordy Nelson, Martavis Bryant, and Ryan Switzer. Nelson has arguably been Aaron Rodgers’ best receiver over the last several years and found himself left out in the cold after the team decided to move forward with Randall Cobb, Davante Adams , and a younger receiver group.Bryant adds an explosive presence that can threaten defenses over the top while Switzer is an extremely shifty receiver who will hang his hat on money-down success while also contributing on kick-returns.The team also added former-Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin which, quite frankly, goes right along with the acquisitions of players that seem to be spiraling away from their glory days.DefenseThis past season, the Oakland secondary found themselves in a weird place before the mid-season mark hit. The Raiders defense became the first unit in NFL history that failed to record a single interception within the team’s first seven games. It wasn’t until the Thursday night showing against the Chiefs that they recorded their first pick of the year.So what did Gruden do to remedy the issue? Sign 29-year old and former Charger safety Marcus Gilchrist.Band-aid, meet bullet-wound.New veteran additions to the defensive side of the ball also included long-time Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson and former Seattle defensive lineman Ahtyba Rubin, both 35 and 31 years old, respectively. I have to admit that the brightest lights within the Raiders’ rookie crop might be their two new defensive tackles, P.J Hall from Sam Houston State and Maurice Hurst out of Michigan.Hall, a rather unknown prospect for most of the draft process, is an athletic phenom at the position. At his pro-day, Hill went 4.83/4.71 in the 40 at 310 pounds. He also jumped 38 inches in the vertical and 9-8 in the broad. The most surprising statistic of them all? The man blocked 14 (!!!) kicks in college.Wowza.And he’s about to be paired with Hurst, who was arguably the best interior defensive lineman in the entire draft.His draft stock took a major hit , however, when he was diagnosed with a heart condition following the combine in Indianapolis.It’s crazy to imagine, but the defensive line talent in the AFC West might have taken another leap forward.Special TeamsThe Raiders have had one of the more popular, and talented, special teams units in the NFL over the last 15 years. Longtime kicker Sebastian Janikowski was relegated to the sidelines after a back-injury landed him on injured-reserve for the entire 2017 season. Janikowski was later told by the team he would not be brought back after 27-year old Giorgio Tavecchio had a solid year in his place.The next piece to fall was fan-favorite punter Marquette King. King was well-known for being an excellent punter while bringing a level of swagger not usually seen at a position known for just kicking the ball to the opponent. However, King’s style of play and attention he brought to himself was deemed more of a negative than a positive to the new head coach.He has been replaced with rookie punter Johnny Townsend out of the University of Florida, whom the Raiders selected in the fifth round of this year’s NFL Draft.What are your guys’ expectations of the Oakland Raiders this season? Let us know in the comment section.