Getty Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels.
The Las Vegas Raiders‘ offensive line is still taking shape and they were fortunate to have center Andre James return in Week 4 vs. the Denver Broncos. James had missed two games with a concussion, which forced rookie third-round pick Dylan Parham into the starting center role. The team did sign Billy Price to the practice squad as a potential replacement for James but decided to stick with Parham.
The Raiders are fortunate that their starting center is healthy as Price will no longer be an option. According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Arizona Cardinals have signed Price off of Las Vegas’ practice squad.
The #Cardinals waived WR Andy Isabella and signed C Billy Price off the #Raiders practice squad.
Price is a former first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals who spent last season with the New York Giants. He’s started 34 games over the past four seasons and hasn’t lived up to his draft status. Cardinals starting center Rodney Hudson, who they previously traded for from the Raiders, has been dealing with a banged-up knee so there’s a good chance Price will need to play this season. Hudson has been one of the best centers in the NFL throughout his career but his body has been breaking down. He also missed five games last season.
Parham Better Suited at RG?
James was a project for the previous coaching staff and they gave him a solid contract last year. He’s been inconsistent since taking over as the starting center but he has improved. The current Raiders coaching staff appears to want to have Parham be the center of the future but that might be a call. He’s been playing much better at right guard. Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus believes that Parham’s future is at guard.
Four weeks in, and the data is clear: Parham looks much more comfortable at right guard than center. He earned an 82.3 overall grade in Week 1 and a 77.2 mark this past week at right guard. In Weeks 2 and 3, he earned overall grades of 53.2 and 56.7, respectively, at center.
It makes sense, given that Parham played right guard last season at Memphis, and will be something to monitor if he’s jostled around going forward.
Parham didn’t look bad at center and could significantly improve his play if he works there full time. However, that’s something the Raiders will likely decide in the offseason.
Has Thayer Munford Earned the RT Spot?
The position on the Raiders roster that they’ve had the hardest time solving has been right tackle. Jermaine Eluemunor appeared to have won the spot heading into Week 1 with Brandon Parker sent to Injured Reserve and Alex Leatherwood getting cut. However, rookie seventh-round pick Thayer Munford might have earned the job going forward. The Atheltic’s Tashan Reed believes that Munford has been better than Eluemunor and should be holding down the right tackle spot for now.
“It was pretty clear that the unit was better when Munford was on the field,” Reed wrote. “Across his 44 snaps, they averaged 6.2 yards per rush and allowed zero sacks according to TruMedia. In Eluemunor’s 30 snaps, they averaged 4.6 yards per rush and allowed two sacks. The rookie has earned his spot.”
The Raiders may continue to shuffle their offensive line but they may have found a solid group with Munford at right tackle.