The Las Vegas Raiders have made many changes to its offensive line this offseason. Raiders General Manager Tom Telesco used free agency and the NFL Draft to help fill out an offensive line that desperately needed to be addressed this offseason. The Raiders also added a new offensive line coach, James Cregg. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, Cregg learned the strengths and weaknesses of the Raiders’ offensive line.
So far, Cregg likes what he’s seen from one of the Raiders’ most critical offensive linemen, Dylan Parham. The veteran offensive lineman is hands down one of the most dependable offensive linemen on the Raiders roster. Parham has started every game for the Raiders the last two seasons.
Cregg noted some of Parham’s strengths and how they benefit the team.
"First of all, very athletic young man got a good, strong lower body to him, obviously has the strength and quickness to go along with what we want,” Cregg said. “And like you just said, he has that experience from last year. I think he's grown quite a bit from last season. Obviously, I wasn't around him that much, but I could see it right now how he learns, how he's developing, and I think that's a huge asset for him on that right side with Thayer [Munford]."
While the Raiders’ new offense will be a learning process for all involved, the new scheme plays more into what Parham does well. Cregg noted Parham’s fluidity and ability to play multiple positions. Cregg also explained how Parham’s polished footwork helps him on the offensive line.
The Raiders are undoubtedly depending on Parham’s success this season. At the very least, they expect him to simply continue what he’s been doing the last couple of seasons.
"Yeah, just watching him and doing what we're doing, we run more wide zone and things like that and he's just more natural, especially him being a center,” Cregg said. “Sometimes centers are more natural being right-handed guys than they are left-handed guys for whatever reason, and he's just more natural moving over there. And we just liked the way his footwork was better over there and things like that. The game was more natural for him over there. That's why we moved him."
