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ALAMEDA — The name Kelechi Osemele used to bring a grimace in the defensive meeting room of the Raiders.

As the left guard of the Baltimore Ravens, Osemele won no friends with his penchant for picking unsuspecting defenders off when they least expect it.

“You watch K.O., and he’s the guy that plays to the whistle and gets in the last shove,” Raiders defensive tackle Justin Ellis said. “You don’t really like him too much unless he’s on your team.”

Which is exactly what happened when the Raiders signed Osemele to a five-year, $58 million salary with $25.4 million guaranteed on the first day of free agency, an average salary of $11.7 million which is the highest ever paid to a guard.

Osemele makes his regular-season start Sunday when the Raiders visit the New Orleans Saints.

His mission is clear. At 6-foot-5, 330 pounds, Osemele is a big, powerful and at times malevolent addition who is expected to add toughness and an edge to the Raiders offensive line.

“We’re going to try and finish, be in your face, intimidate you and let you know that it’s going to be a real long day,” Osemele said. “It’s not going to be one of those things where you’re going against some fat, lazy offensive lineman. You’re going to get it to the whistle every time.”

Line coach Mike Tice referred to Osemele in an unflattering term having to do with the posterior of the anatomy — except in this case he meant it as the highest of praise.

“We felt like in our room, we needed that,” Tice said. “Adding a guy like Kelechi brings that. It permeates and it’s contagious. Soon it spreads to through the room, the guys in the huddle, and we think it’s real important.”

With Osemele at left guard, in between left tackle Donald Penn and center Rodney Hudson, along with right guard Gabe Jackson and right tackle Menelik Watson, the Raiders are determined to not only protect Derek Carr but dramatically improve a running game that finished 29th in the NFL.

There have been growing pains in the preseason. Osemele’s arrival pushed Jackson to the right side, and Watson missed all last season with a torn Achilles’.

In Week 3 of the preseason, there were glimpses of what the Raiders hoped to be — in particular a 31-yard burst by DeAndre Washington courtesy of a thoroughfare created by Osemele and Hudson.

“That was the first play where I thought, `That’s what it’s supposed to feel like,’ ” Osemele said.

Osemele said his playing style was formed at an early age.

“Since I was growing up in youth football in Texas, that’s how we played,” Osemele said. “If you’re playing offensive line, you’re supposed to be physical, you’re supposed to be nasty, you’re supposed to be aggressive.

“You’re supposed to be stronger than the guy across from you, and he’s supposed to be faster than you are. So what you do is get your hands on him make him pay for trying to run away from you the whole damn game.”

The presence of Osemele should help Jackson, a third-year player who at 6-3, 335 making a seamless transition to playing on the right side after being a left guard throughout college and the NFL.

Osemele, a left tackle for the Super Bowl champion Ravens following the 2012 season, was moved to guard and watched Pro Bowl guard Marshall Yanda closely.

“The main thing is getting around Gabe and letting him see how I finish,” Osemele said. “You feed off that as an offensive line. You see a guy get a pancake, and it’s contagious energy. You have guys burying people at the whistle, diving around the pile. Everyone wants to be a part of the action.”

Osemele’s style is reminiscent of Steve Wisniewski, an eight-time Pro Bowl guard who was despised by opponents until the moment they joined the Raiders, at which point they made a beeline to shake his hand.

When Osemele came to the Raiders, the first player to greet him was defensive end Denico Autry.

“When we played the Raiders, there were a couple of times where I pancaked him, then he got up and I speared him,” Osemele said. “He wanted to let me know not to do that to him in practice, that we’re teammates now.”

Autry declined to recount the skirmish before he broke into a smile and said, “He’s just a rough, nasty, physical guy . . . and he’s going to be great for us.”