Dylan Parham finds home on improving Raiders’ offensive line

The moment was ironic and accurate. Hence the smile on Raiders rookie offensive lineman Dylan Parham’s face.

Just as he was about to explain the challenges of playing three line positions in the first six games of his NFL career, a teammate passed by his locker and shouted: “The man can do it all.”

It’s not a far-fetched claim. Keeping track of Parham, a third-round pick out of Memphis, has been a case of Where’s Waldo. Between injuries and the Raiders’ plan to determine their best starting five, Parham has started at both guard positions and center.

Going back to the draft, Parham had a pretty good idea that his versatility would be an asset. He played guard and tackle at Memphis, and a lot of NFL evaluators thought his best long-range position was center.

So he came to Las Vegas with eyes wide open that he might be moved around.

“I didn’t know how early, but I knew that was something I had to do in my future,” Parham said. “So I had to prepare for it.”

As did the Raiders, part of which was dependent on having an open mind. Not just with Parham, but their entire offensive line. That included taking the unorthodox approach of rotating players at multiple positions during organized team activities, training camp and the preseason, and bucking conventional wisdom by continuing that rotation through the first six games.

And while it took awhile to come up with answers, the line has been efficient for the past three games. It has paved the way for running back Josh Jacobs to rush for 144, 154 and 143 yards in those games, and in the past two games, it has surrendered just two sacks.

“More than anything else, we’re just trying to find the right group to go in there and play beside one another,” coach Josh McDaniels said. “That takes time. It’s a new system … so we gave everybody a lot of opportunities in the preseason.”

There were a few factors that dictated the rotation plan.

First, the surprise retirement of Denzelle Good a few days before training camp removed a player the Raiders were counting on as a starter.

Secondly, the Raiders were going to give Alex Leatherwood, the 17th overall pick in the 2021 draft, every opportunity to prove he could be a viable piece.

No, Leatherwood wasn’t selected by McDaniels or general manager Dave Ziegler, but given the investment the organization made in him, they weren’t going to immediately give up on Leatherwood.

But when Leatherwood didn’t take advantage of the opportunity — he was eventually released — and veteran tackle Brandon Parker went down with a season-ending injury in the preseason and rookie tackle Thayer Munford suffered an injury that cost him the final two preseason games, the Raiders weren’t ready to make a definitive declaration at right tackle.

Meanwhile, a concussion suffered by center Andre James that cost him two regular-season games interrupted Parham’s development at guard, as he moved to center.

Hence, all the iterations of the offensive line in the first month.

“I think with young players, nobody really makes a big deal out of it when it’s Neil Farrell rotating in there on the defensive line, or a young player playing in the secondary part time, or a young receiver or a back, but when it’s an offensive lineman, everybody kind of says, ‘why aren’t they all just the same five every time,” McDaniels said. “And sometimes it’s best for everybody that it’s not just the same five.”

Now, they have found a more consistent starting five. It has resulted in Parham at left guard, James at center, Alex Bars at right guard, Kolton Miller at left tackle and Jermaine Elumenor at right tackle.

Only right tackle still seems uncertain, though Munford, who replaced an injured Elumenor last week against the Texans and played well, could get the start Sunday against the Saints.

“We were searching for a while,” McDaniels said. “What’s the right formula? Who are the right guys to put beside one another?”

More and more, it looks as if the Raiders are nearing a decision.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.