Diving into Dylan Parham vs. Jordan Meredith

The battle at left guard will produce starter and quality backup for Las Vegas Raiders

Dylan Parham versus Jordan Meredith.

That’s the positional battle to watch on the offensive line as the Las Vegas Raiders continue on an integral offseason under new head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek.

Both Parham and Meredith are incumbents in Las Vegas’ trenches and during OTAs in May and June and mandatory minicamp two weeks ago, that duo was flipping back and forth at left guard. The first-team offensive line for much of minicamp consisted of: Kolton Miller (left tackle), Parham/Meredith (left guard), Jackson Powers-Johnson (center), Alex Cappa (right guard), and DJ Glaze (right tackle).

Hence eyes on the left guard spot. While the entire group can potentially fluctuate — Carroll has said numerous times the Raiders are open competition in his inaugural year as the captain of the Silver & Black — four of the front-five spots appear entrenched with the left guard spot the only position without a clear-cut No. 1.

And that’s why the upcoming training camp battle between Parham and Meredith bears watching.

By The Numbers

Parham, who arrived to Las Vegas as a third-round pick (90th overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft, earned his way into the starting lineup from the get-go and started 48 of the 51 games is his first three years with the Raiders.

The Memphis product was a 17-game starter his rookie season at left guard, then he started 17 contests in 2023 seeing time at both left and right guard spots, and this past year, he played in 15 games with 14 starts at right guard.

Parham is no stranger to heavy snap counts as he notched 94, 100, and 90 percent of the the Raiders’ offensive snaps in his first three seasons in Silver & Black.

Meredith, meanwhile, arrived to the NFL scene as an undrafted free agent out of Western Kentucky by landing with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. He was waived, signed by the Raiders in 2022, released again and spent some time with the Cleveland browns. He returned to Las Vegas at the tail end of 2022 before signing a future/reserve contract in 2023.

A spot starter/backup in 2022 and 2023, Meredith was an eight-game starter in 2024 for the Raiders playing 574 snaps (63 percent) in the 14 contests he played in total. When Parham was out with injury, it was Meredith who stepped in. And when Powers-Johnson assumed the center role when Andre James went down, it was Meredith who shifted to left guard. What he displayed in those eight starts earned the belief of Raider Nation.

Those 574 snaps were the most Meredith has seen on offense in his three-year career.

Of the two, Meredith is the heavier lineman at 6-foot-2 and 300 pounds compared to Parham at 6-foot-3 and 285 pounds.

Focus-ed Assessment

When comparing Parham and Meredith via Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) evaluations, it’s easy to see why Meredith has staunch backers.

According to PFF, Meredith earned an 80.8 overall grade which puts him 10th amongst the 136 guards the group assessed. He notched a 75.7 pass blocking grade (16th) and 78.4 run blocking grade (14th). PFF didn’t chart Meredith for allowing a single sack while getting snagged for three penalties.

Meanwhile, PFF gave Parham a 74.3 overall mark (24th). He earned a 67.5 pass blocking grade (45th) and 75.6 run blocking grade (18th). The group charted Parham with five sacks allowed (117th) while getting snagged with three penalties.

A case can be made that Meredith’s lower snap count led to more impressive display while minimizing the amount of mistakes made. Meredith didn’t play a single snap on offense through the first five games of the 2024 season before getting steady and consistent play from Week 6 to 15. But perhaps a good tell on how the Raiders viewed Meredith: He was inactive in Week 3, 16 and 17, and played zero snaps on the regular-season finale.

Parham, meanwhile, was inactive Week 7 and 8 due to injury but returned in Week 9 and was a mainstay through the rest of the season.

Financial Ramifications

Parham is in the final year of his rookie deal while Meredith is on a very fiscally sound exclusive rights free agent tender of $1.03 million.

Parham, who is younger at 25 years old, is slated to earn $3.883-plus million as his rookie deal is up this offseason and holds a $4.468 million valuation from Over The Cap (OTC).Meredith, on the other hand, is 27 and sports a $5.089 million evaluation from OTC.

A solid to stellar 2025 campaign is Parham’s best interest for not only continued NFL career but a handsome pay day. The impression he leaves upon both Carroll and Spytek dictates his Raiders future.

Meredith, however, puts Las Vegas in an advantageous financial spot.

He’s only accrued two full NFL seasons, this year would be No. 3, which means he isn’t eligible for a big-money deal — yet. He’s a free agency next offseason but the restricted type, which puts a lot of his future control in Silver & Black hands. RFAs are free to negotiate with other teams, but the original team can offer a qualifying tender that can come with right of first refusal and/or draft-pick compensation. And RFA qualifying offers are peanuts compared to full-fledged free agent contracts.

New Challenger?

A forgotten name in the Raiders’ trenches is Thayer Munford Jr. A seventh-round pick (238th overall) in the same draft class as Parham, the Ohio State product was a 10-game starter at right and left tackle in 2023 and started two games in 2024 at right tackle — before being supplanted by DJ Glaze.

But the 6-foot-6 and 315-pound Munford did mix it at guard and could potentially push Parham and Meredith to do their respective best. Munford is 25 and on the final year of his rookie contract, so impressing not only the Raiders but the rest of the league in 2025 is in his best interest.

Las Vegas also drafted Caleb Rogers in the third round of the 2025 draft (98th pick overall). He was a heavy-snap collegiate player at Texas Tech and stands 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds. The 23-year-old gives Las Vegas a young option who likely carves out a role in 2026.

The fight between Parham, Meredith, and any other challengers should be quite fruitful for the Raiders. The battle will produce a quality starter and backups.