Las Vegas Raiders: Will Dylan Parham move to center in 2023?
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders have big-time issues on both sides of the ball, and needing cap space to take care of that, they could move on from Andre James.
When it comes to needs for the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason, you can look no further than the offensive line. The Silver and Black have had issues upfront for many years now, as it has been a revolving door of players, most of whom have not worked out in a positive way.
A few years back, the team made the decision to move on from center Rodney Hudson, a player who was widely considered the best in the game at his position. The move was a financial one, as Hudson was still playing at a very high level, and allowed the team to go with a cheaper option in Andre James.
A few years later, suddenly James is a possible cap casualty as we enter the 2023 NFL offseason, as he has a cap number near $7 million. If the Raiders decide to release James, who is only 25 years old, they would have a dead cap number of only $1.92 million according to Spotrac, money they could use to bolster both sides of the ball.
Could the Raiders turn to Dylan Parham?
Fortunately for the Silver and Black, they have a player on their roster who could possibly slide right into the starting center role in 2023. That player is Dylan Parham, the first NFL Draft pick of the David Ziegler era, a third-round selection out of the University of Memphis back in 2022.
Parham started as an offensive guard in Year 1, but he has the skill set to move over to the middle, and play center in his second season in the league. This is not to say that James is a bad center by any means, but the cap number is pretty high for a guy who is not considered one of the best in the league at his position.
Parham is a very valuable piece to the Raiders’ offensive line, and it was clear as a rookie that he had the size and strength to move defensive linemen around at the next level. He stepped in at the position when James went down with a concussion last season and could be the full-time answer at the position in 2023.