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Raiders 2022 two-deep analysis and predictions: Offensive line

By Alexander Monfreda

HENDERSON, NEVADA - JUNE 07: Offensive linemen Hroniss Grasu #65 and Alex Bars #64, and guards Lester Cotton Sr. #67 and John Simpson #76 of the Las Vegas Raiders warm up during mandatory minicamp at the Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters/Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center on June 07, 2022 in Henderson, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
HENDERSON, NEVADA - JUNE 07: Offensive linemen Hroniss Grasu #65 and Alex Bars #64, and guards Lester Cotton Sr. #67 and John Simpson #76 of the Las Vegas Raiders warm up during mandatory minicamp at the Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters/Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center on June 07, 2022 in Henderson, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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MEMPHIS, TN – NOVEMBER 13: Rodrigues Clark #2 and Dylan Parham #56 of the Memphis Tigers celebrate with teammates against the East Carolina Pirates on November 13, 2021, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN – NOVEMBER 13: Rodrigues Clark #2 and Dylan Parham #56 of the Memphis Tigers celebrate with teammates against the East Carolina Pirates on November 13, 2021, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) /

Raiders 2022 two-deep analysis and predictions: Offensive line

C2: Dylan Parham

Stay with me here, because this is going to be a wild ride.

The truth is, second-year offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood is going to start this upcoming season. Given Parham is going to play guard, likely on the right side, this leaves Leatherwood’s initial right tackle position the most likely for him to play. As such, I believe Leatherwood – Who’s taken a ton of reps at right tackle during this year’s camp – will start at right tackle this upcoming season.

Now, back to Parham at center. If Parham moves from right guard to center, the right guard position is now vacant. In this situation, the most likely scenario is Leatherwood moves to right guard. I’ll explain how I got there.

This goes back to the Raiders’ holding Parker in such high regard, as evident in his $3.5M contract, making him the 18th-highest-paid right tackle leaguewide. Eluemunor, who has experience at both guard and tackle spots, unlike Parker, was paid 1/3 of that despite his superior versatility. All in all, the most reasonable conclusion to this info is the Raiders want Parker to fill in at tackle before Eluemunor fills in at guard.

This is doable by switching Leatherwood to right guard, to fill the hole Parham left in his switch to center. The final piece of this puzzle is Parker taking over at right tackle for Leatherwood. From left to right, the line would be Kolton Miller, Denzelle Good, Dylan Parham, Alex Leatherwood, and Brandon Parker.

Why shift the Raiders’ rookie to center in this situation?

Parham is predicted to translate best at the next-level playing center, making him the perfect fit to man the middle, in the absence of Andre James. The skillset of the third-round pick in the ’22 NFL Draft reflects that, and his experience starting at center further helps cement this theory.

All in all, there are a lot of moving parts here, but this is the lineup that makes the most sense in the event James goes down, from the perspective of the Raiders’ coaching staff.

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