When looking at the Las Vegas Raiders' offensive line, it is clear that there is plenty of talent and they should be a solid unit. Unfortunately, injuries impacted things last season and caused a bit of mayhem on the line. This was unfortunate because the Raiders' talent at quarterback and running back was not enough to overcome the chaos.
Things look a lot better on that front right now, as Jackson Powers-Johnson is taking his rightful place at center, and Kolton Miller and DJ Glaze are set to hold down the tackle spots. The guard situation is more nuanced, however.
The Athletic's Tashan Reed provided an update last week on the state of the Raiders' offensive line. He noted that free agent addition Alex Cappa was the front runner at right guard while Dylan Parham and Jordan Meredith are battling it out opposite him.
Raiders' offensive line decision gets more clear-cut evidence
It is clear that Cappa is not deserving of a starting spot right now, considering that Parham started 14 games for the Raiders at right guard last season and earned Pro Football Focus' 17th-highest overall grade at the position. Meredith was PFF's fifth-highest graded guard, while Cappa, who played for the Cincinnati Bengals, was No. 71.
Cappa's biggest advantage is that he has a strong relationship with John Spytek and Tom Brady. However, if Raider Nation knows anything about the operation that new head coach Pete Carroll runs, it is that the five best offensive lineman will start for Las Vegas.
PFF's Mason Cameron continued the site's rollout of positional rankings with the top 32 guards in the NFL ahead of the 2025 season. Parham landed at No. 26 despite not being locked into a starting job right now.
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"While a mid-season injury hindered Parham’s performance through the back half of the 2024 season, his output early was encouraging," Cameron wrote. "Through the first six weeks, Parham posted the eighth-highest PFF overall grade (78.8) among qualifying guards and earned 70.0-plus marks in both pass protection and run blocking."
Recently, Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports completely ignored Cappa's presence on the Raiders' roster to laud Parham as a breakout candidate heading into the last year of his contract. Now, PFF has ranked him as a top-30 guard in the league as well.
It's abundantly clear that Cappa should be not be locked in as the Raiders' starting right guard. Although they are both competing for the same spot right now, Parham and Meredith should be able to show that they are the two best options at guard.