The Raiders updated the online profiles of their players over the offseason and one of the obvious changes involved fourth-year offensive guard Dylan Parham, who jumped from 285 pounds at the end of the 2024 season to 332 pounds in his updated profile.
Rumors swirled that the new coaching staff might have wanted Parham to gain weight or he was possibly bulking up for the final year of his rookie contract.
As it turns out, neither theory was accurate.
According to Raider Nation Radio host Q Myers, Parham is the same weight he was a year ago, and the website just happened to be off by 47 pounds.
“I [solved] the mystery of Dylan Parham and the big weight gain over the offseason. [It] actually wasn’t a big weight gain over the offseason at all. I asked him about it on Sunday after practices,” Myers said on the Locked on Raiders Squad Show podcast.
“He said, ‘To be honest, I don’t know why I still said 285.’ He said, ‘I’ve been 332 [pounds] the whole time I’ve been in the league. He’s like, ‘I don’t know why it says that. And that’s why when I was looking at him, I kept saying he doesn’t look any different than he’s always looked, but obviously I’m not 332 pounds, so I don’t know what it looks like anyway… but it was bothering me the whole time because we’re looking at the roster… He was on the roster last year at 285 [and now] 332. That’s almost 50 something pounds.”
Going into training camp, there were some who believed Parham might be the odd man out on the Raiders’ offensive line and possibly a tradable commodity.
But as of the second week of August, Parham seems to have solidified himself as the Raiders’ starting left guard and the current depth chart shows Jackson Powers-Johnson and Alex Cappa locked into the real position battle at right guard.
The fact that Powers-Johnson hasn’t secured a starting job at this stage in the preseason is a surprise, and Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter commented on that dynamic on Monday.
“Watching the way they’re handling Jackson Powers-Johnson, they want more out of him, and they’re trying a lot of different angles, trying a lot of different things,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
“Somebody asked me, do you think they’re just trying to manipulate him, to motivate him?” Carpenter continued. “And I really don’t think that’s it, because he is motivated. He doesn’t have to be manipulated. I think they literally just, what you see is what you get.”
“They want more out of him and they keep talking about Jordan Meredith’s execution at center, and they love Jordan Meredith, and I think they’re looking for him… they want him to be technically sound. Let’s just leave it there. And clearly that’s what they want. They think that he can be more technically sound.”
“I still believe that it is hard for me to wrap around that he isn’t a starter. I said this yesterday in the podcast though. The longer this goes, the more I think there’s a legitimate shot that he absolutely could be in jeopardy. But I want to wait and just see, at least for me, where how this plays out.”
x: @raidersbeat
Nope, blame it all on the great Las Vegas 24/7 buffets! If he were in Green Bay he would be slim. The Waffle House closes at 8. Not much else to do.