Tag: Dylan Parham

These Raiders’ concerns still have to be addressed before Week 1

The Las Vegas Raiders have come a long way this off-season. They have found their new head coach, new general manager, next elite wide receiver, and made many more franchise-changing moves. Now, it’s been one week since the 2022 NFL Draft, and training camp is just around the corner. Las Vegas has made some big moves since February, but the Raiders concerns are becoming increasingly more clear ahead of off-season programs.

Front office stability

More than an improved defense or red-zone offense, the 2022 Raiders need stability. They pushed through the most unpredictable NFL season ever in 2021, dealing with challenges in every sense of the word. And while the playoff loss was disappointing, it also served as a reminder that stability and personnel improvement were finally on their way.

The hiring of Josh McDaniels, Dave Ziegler, and Champ Kelly was a massive step in the right direction. They brought on primarily their own staff and now have executed extensive change in the scouting department as well. All seemed to be looking brighter in Sin City, until this week when it was announced that the Raiders have parted ways with both their vice president of human resources and their team president. It is unclear what lead to the departure of both parties, but new information suggests it may be due to a hostile work environment.

In a newly released statement former president, Dan Vantrelle, suggests he was met with hostility when he brought up concerns regarding the female staff. Vantrelle made clear he stands by his actions and intends to get legal representation regarding his termination.

The Raiders have been involved in many lawsuits over the last year, which makes the latest even more disappointing.

The secondary

The Raiders added a lot of talent in free agency and the draft this year, but one group they hardly addressed was the secondary. Outside of trading for cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, Las Vegas only signed three other players to their secondary, and none of them are known to be game-changing players. For the most part, Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler have hung on the pieces that were already there for them.

While some of the pieces they have in place are solid, like Nate Hobbs, most of the pieces could use an upgrade. Starting cornerback Trayvon Mullen and safety Jonathan Abram are both coming off season-ending injuries and surgeries, making their play in 2022 relatively unpredictable.

Despite these injuries and questions, the new front office tandem decided against drafting a rookie cornerback or safety, in hopes that defensive coordinator Patrick Graham can upgrade the players he has on the payroll already, or they can find a steal in the remaining free agents.

That free agent steal may come in the form of Giants’ cornerback James Bradberry, who is rumored to be released from New York in the coming weeks. The former Pro-Bowler is coming off a season with four interceptions, more than any one player had for the Raiders in 2021. If Mullen is out for the beginning of the season, Bradberry gives the Silver and Black a fighting chance and will be a wildly dependable piece of the puzzle upon Mullen’s return.

The offensive line

Unlike the secondary, the Raiders did choose to address the offensive line during the draft. With their first pick, they took Memphis offensive guard, Dylan Parham. Parham’s skill set is unique because he brings the ability to play both center and guard. Prior to the draft, the widespread assumption was that Andre James would remain at center this season, thanks to a somewhat convincing campaign in 2021. Now, it’s less clear than ever what the starting five will look like in September.

Second-year veteran Alex Leatherwood brings his own set of questions, as he was incredibly undependable his rookie season. After playing at both right tackle and right guard, he came away without much success in either. Head coach Josh McDaniels told the media he is unsure where Leatherwood will play next season, but sees him as a “contributor”.

The questions at center come with equal questions at both guard and tackle. The only solidified position on the front line seems to be left tackle, Kolton Miller. Thankfully, with a new offensive line coach comes new hope for an improved line.

The Raiders live in the hardest division in football, inside the hardest conference in football. Their successes and downfalls next season will come at the hands of the problems still unsolved. If they can choose to make smart decisions and do the right thing, these Raiders’ concerns should be mitigated by September.

2022 All Senior Bowl Offense

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With the week of practice and game wrapped up, it’s time to pick out the best players for the Senior Bowl offense. Make sure you go back and check out Around the Block’s winners and losers from Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of practice. Instead of picking out the winners again, this article will select the All-Senior Bowl team.

This article will echo the format of any all-pro or conference where each position will have a few players that performed the best over the course of the week. Additionally, each player will have a more specific positional designation if necessary. For example, the positions will be broken out on the defensive line by technique/alignment (0T, 1T, etc.). 

QB: Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis

Frankly, none of the quarterbacks dominated at the Senior Bowl on offense. All of them struggled at various points during the week of practice. Therefore, I’ll pick two quarterbacks representing opposite ends of the spectrum. First, Kenny Pickett was perhaps the most positively steady of the quarterbacks in Mobile. He had some issues with maintaining velocity during the monsoon on Wednesday. However, all the other quarterbacks had issues, too.

Once Pickett developed some chemistry with his receivers and the linemen, he started dealing. During the game, none of his passes hit the ground. Furthermore, Pickett crushed his interviews with NFL teams. Pickett is the starter on this team because he is the safer, game manager-type that can keep the offense on schedule. 

On the other side of the coin, Malik Willis put together the most volatile week for the Senior Bowl offense. His issues with mechanics, accuracy, and decision-making were abundant throughout the week. However, he also threw some of the most incredible passes every day. Willis also repeatedly made highlight plays with his feet to buy time and pick up yards if nothing was there.

Additionally, Willis exhibited a unique energetic leadership style that resonated with his teammates. He was continuously dancing and hyping up the other players on the field, somewhat similar to Mac Jones last year. Willis gets the nod for this team because of his potential for incredible plays that no one else in Mobile could make; if the team gets down, Willis’ penchant for highlight-reel plays would be a major asset. 

RB: Dameon Pierce, Tyler Badie, Rachaad White

Similar to the quarterbacks, none of the running backs were dominant at the Senior Bowl. None of them excelled in all three phases of the running back position: rushing, receiving, and pass blocking. We’ll lead off with Dameon Pierce from Florida.

Pierce looked fantastic running the ball; he’s a compact back that runs hard behind his pads with great contact balance. He excelled in pass protection as well, winning the one-on-one to end practice on the second day. Pierce wasn’t fantastic catching the ball, but this was mainly because it seemed like he needed to make difficult catches. 

Tyler Badie was one of my favorite running backs in the group going into this week. Despite his diminutive stature, Badie shone in practice every day. He’s a highly shifty runner with great vision, which helps him catch the ball out of the backfield. Naturally, as a smaller running back, Badie is not the best pass protector.

Finally, Rachaad White was probably the best pure runner of the three, displaying great burst and long speed on outside zone runs. He made some nice catches out of the backfield and wasn’t terrible in pass protection. He still needs work there, but he’s a pretty raw back with light tread on the tires, so teams will be interested. 

FB: Connor Heyward

I expected Jeremiah Hall to be the best fullback in Mobile, but Connor Heyward quickly took that honor. Hall struggled with drops and wasn’t a dominant blocker, whereas Heyward excelled. Hayward is a converted running back/kick returner that moved to fullback/tight end. He’s an impressive athlete with impeccable NFL bloodlines; it would not shock me if he’s the first fullback off the board. 

WR: Christian Watson (X), Calvin Austin III (SL), Romeo Doubs (Z/X), Bo Melton (Z/SL), Tre Turner (Z/X)

Christian Watson had the best week of any skill position player at the Senior Bowl on offense. The argument could be made that he was the best offensive player, and he was undoubtedly among the best overall players. He displayed rare athleticism and route running for a receiver of his size. Calvin Austin III negated concerns about his size by showing that he could not be caught or covered by any defensive back there.

Romeo Doubs had a few issues with drops, but his release package and patience with his routes were special. Bo Melton and Tre Turner had quieter weeks, but both displayed good explosiveness; Melton also adds values as a return specialist, while Turner caught nearly everything thrown his way and was one of the more nuanced route runners. 

TE: Jeremy Ruckert (Y), Greg Dulcich (H), Isaiah Likely (F)

The tight end group was very impressive across the board. One of the things I greatly appreciated was that both coaching staffs asked the tight ends to fill roles they hadn’t in college. For example, Isaiah Likely from Coastal Carolina took most of his snaps at the Y position, aligning attached to the offensive line and on the line of scrimmage. Even though he was an outstanding blocker at Coastal Carolina, it was good to see him doing it more traditionally.

Jeremy Ruckert reminded many people why he was one of the higher-ranked tight ends in last year’s class before returning to school. Unfortunately, he filled the fourth fiddle role behind three elite wide receivers this year. But Ruckert was very solid in both blocking and receiving before going down with an injury. Finally, Greg Dulcich might have had the best week of any tight end in Mobile; he showed excellent route running to all levels of the field. 

OT: Trevor Penning (RT), Max Mitchell (LT), Darian Kinnard (RT), Matt Waletzko (LT)

While the offensive line as a whole looked good in team drills during the week, the tackles were certainly the weaker group. Trevor Penning made multiple “highlight” reps during one-on-one drills, even if he nearly started a fight every day in practice. Max Mitchell lost some reps here and there, but he certainly looked the part of an NFL offensive lineman in terms of his movement skills and strength.

The same goes for Darian Kinnard. He might end up at guard at the next level, but proved he could stick at tackle, if necessary, and be a plus player in a suitable scheme. Finally, Matt Waletzko quietly had one of the best weeks among the smaller school offensive linemen. He still needs some technical work, but has all the physical tools to be a late-round developmental project who could become a starter. 

OG: Zion Johnson (LG), Ed Ingram (RG), Chris Paul (RG), Cole Strange (LG)

Despite the excellent performance of the defensive line, the interior offensive line was among the best position groups in Mobile. Despite spending most of the week at center, Zion Johnson solidified himself as a first-round prospect and arguably the best guard in this draft. Ed Ingram had a terrific week as well; granted, it was probably not good enough to overcome concerns about his off-field history.

Chris Paul took most of his reps at tackle, but his future is probably at guard, where he should be a high-quality player. Like Johnson, Cole Strange took most of his reps at center. At the beginning of the week, Strange looked overmatched, especially in one-on-one drills. But as the week went on, he got better and adjusted to the level of competition pretty well. He’s not ready to be an NFL starter now, but he could develop into one with a few years of professional training and development. 

C: Dylan Parham, Luke Fortner

There was a lot of shuffling of bodies at the center position on offense for the Senior Bowl. Many guards moved in and out of the middle, so I tried to pick two players that should stay there at the next level. Dylan Parham erased any concerns about his size with the initial weigh-ins, coming in almost 40 pounds over his listed college weight. He didn’t look any slower with the added weight, and performed exceptionally well throughout the week. Luke Fortner also impressed at the pivot position. He’s one of the bigger centers in this draft, but is also an excellent athlete that helped his stock this week.