The Las Vegas Raiders had dealt with plenty of changes to their starting lineup on offense through the first 15 games of the season. In fact, only four players -- Ashton Jeanty, Tre Tucker, Dylan Parham, and DJ Glaze -- had started each of those contests.
Las Vegas' offensive line has been a revolving door, as, entering Sunday, nine different players had made at least two starts for the unit. Las Vegas finally appeared to find some stability up front as Stone Forsythe, Parham, Alex Cappa, Caleb Rogers, and Glaze started each of the past four games.
It appeared that there would be no changes to the offensive line in Week 17; however, Parham was a last-second scratch from the lineup due to an illness. Atonio Mafi took his place. Parham's absence proved that the Raiders may need the fourth-year offensive guard more than fans initially thought.
Dylan Parham's absence shows how important he is to the Raiders' OL
Parham was a breakout piece at right guard for the Raiders in 2024, leading the fan base to think that he would be a cornerstone on the offensive line for years to come. The new coaching staff responded by moving him back to left guard, a move that has not worked out.
The third-rounder in the 2022 NFL Draft has regressed a bit this season, posting a 63.6 Pro Football Focus grade that ranks 35th out of 78 offensive guards. His 62.3 pass block grade and 63.1 run block grade rank 40th and 36th in the league, respectively, which is not bad, but not great.
Parham had his best performance of the season in Week 16 against an elite Houston Texans defensive line, as he led the Raiders' entire roster with a 90.1 PFF grade. His 87.1 pass block grade and 84.7 run block grade were both also the best on the team.
While he was not officially inactive, Parham did not play in Sunday's 34-10 loss to the New York Giants in Week 17, marking his first absence of the season. Pete Carroll noted that an illness kept him out of the lineup during his postgame presser, even though he was not officially listed on the injury report.
"He couldn't make it out of pregame," Carroll said. "He was sick and couldn't go."
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Mafi, who was signed to the active roster last week, earned his first start of the season in Parham's absence. He struggled tremendously. The offensive line, as a whole, was bad, as they allowed four sacks and failed to create lanes in the running game, which finished with just 3.15 yards per carry.
The performance was far worse than last week's showing against the Texans, who have had the league's best defense, when the Raiders averaged 5.37 yards per carry and allowed just three sacks. Parham's absence was certainly felt in Las Vegas' blowout loss on Sunday.
The lack of production from his backup showed that the Raiders may need to do what was considered unthinkable earlier this season and re-sign Parham in the offseason. Mafi had the worst PFF grade on the team at 49.2, giving up two sacks, and he was also penalized twice.
While John Spytek and the front office could pivot and look for an upgrade over Parham, one has to wonder if the offensive guard's dip in production is simply tied to offensive line coach Brennan Carroll.
With many expecting Las Vegas to move on from the elder Carroll, his son will likely follow him out. It could wind up being worth it for the Raiders to bring Parham back on a short-term, lower-risk deal to see if he can turn things around with a different offensive line coach.