After a rough sophomore campaign under Brennan Carroll, most Las Vegas Raiders fans were willing to give DJ Glaze the benefit of the doubt. The young right tackle had been a stalwart for two years, after all, and with competent coaching in his inaugural season, he was an average offensive tackle.
But Raider Nation did not like the fact that the front office didn't add any competition for Glaze. He allowed 10 sacks, six quarterback hits and 32 hurries last year, so at a minimum, fans felt like that Glaze should have to compete for his job. And early returns from training camp were worrisome.
Glaze turned it around in the preseason, though, and he rode that momentum into a strong start to the 2026 season. He has yet to slow down, so after being discounted as a potential long-term option at right tackle in Las Vegas, Glaze has become an extension candidate at the end of the year.
DJ Glaze's revival is keeping Raiders' offensive line afloat
Unlike last year, when Glaze's shortcomings were constantly blaring in the fanbase's face through the TV screen, the third-year pro out of Maryland has been rather quiet in 2026. And as Kirk Cousins reminded fans after Sunday's win over the New York Jets, that is undeniably a good thing.
The stats back up this perception, as Glaze has played all 542 offensive snaps for the Raiders this year, which includes 338 pass-blocking reps. And in that sample size, Glaze has dominated, giving up just one sack (which came back in Week 2), three quarterback hits and eight hurries.
In true passing sets, he has one fewer hit and one fewer hurry on his record. For anyone counting at home, that means that Glaze is allowing some kind of pressure on just 3.4 percent of Cousins' true dropbacks. He's allowing a sack on just 0.3 percent of them, and we're halfway through the season.
According to ESPN, before last week's game, Glaze was tied for the seventh-highest pass-block win rate in the NFL among offensive tackles, and it's hard to imagine that he dropped at all after allowing just one hurry against the Jets in Week 8. Glaze has been pretty much lights-out in pass protection.
Where DJ Glaze can still grow for Las Vegas in Year 3
Now, as a run-blocker, there is still room for him to grow. Glaze has been obviously thrown out of the play a handful of times, but he's still been much better than last year. If we look at the stats, they are not awful, but they're not tremendous, either.
So far this season, when running between the right guard and right tackle, or when running between the right tackle and a tight end, the Raiders have gained 100 yards and scored one touchdown on 34 carries. That is just 2.94 yards per rush, which is not tremendous.
But if we include runs around the right end, which Glaze contributes plenty to, then that number rises a bit to 3.3 yards per carry, and includes another touchdown, four more first downs and three more rushes of 10+ yards. And with Las Vegas' issues at right guard, perhaps this assessment is more fair.
On every other rush (not including sneaks or end-arounds), the Raiders are gaining 3.6 yards per carry. On runs to the right side, they are gaining just 3.3 yards per carry. But again, if you take the right guard issues out of it and focus on runs off-tackle, Las Vegas is also averaging 3.6 per pop.
This is all semantics anyway, as the rushing environment for the Silver and Black is poor. Glaze is not alone in failing to help produce big runs or lanes. But having a revolving door next to him at right guard certainly doesn't help with how the numbers look, even if he, too, needs to improve.
Could DJ Glaze get extended after the 2026 season?
Glaze, as a 2024 draftee, is eligible to receive a long-term deal from the Raiders at the conclusion of the 2026 season. Last year, he seemed like a lost cause, and fans were ready to give up on him, but Spytek and Kubiak have seen the potential in him, Rick Dennison has developed him, and it's paid off.
Now, it may be time to pay Glaze.
The top of the right tackle market is close to $30 million per year, but that is only a handful of guys, and Glaze is not in that echelon yet. But Las Vegas just gave Michael Mayer $15 million per year, and Jermaine Eluemunor is making $13 million per year, so Glaze could easily be in the high teens.
Something to the tune of three years for $48-$51 million may do the trick if the Raiders are in a hurry to get him locked up. It is a bit weird that they haven't moved to extend Tre Tucker yet, so perhaps Las Vegas has its eyes on striking a deal with another in-house player. Nobody else makes sense.
Obviously, Glaze will need to keep up this level of play for the whole season, but don't be shocked if he's inking a long-term contract with the Silver and Black after the season if he does. That would be quite the rise for a player whom many fans wanted to replace just months ago.
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