DJ Glaze impressing Raiders coaching staff heading into Year 2

Maryland product appears locked in to be the starting right tackle once more

Quietly going about an NFL career can sometimes be viewed as a negative. The lack of bombastic headlines or spotlight plays hitting both social media and various sports networks can make it seem mundane.

Yet, for DJ Glaze quiet is modus operandi.

The Las Vegas Raiders’ third-round pick (77th overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft came in as a 21-year-old rookie last offseason and simply went to work. There was no boisterous claim, no emphatic arrival. The Maryland product put his nose to the grindstone and earned the starting right tackle spot — supplanting Thayer Munford Jr., who was though to have the spot initially, but got hurt.

Thayer never earned the job back.

Instead, the 6-foot-4 and 323-pound Glaze took command of the spot in Week 3, and after playing nearly 97 percent of the offensive snaps in the 36-22 loss to the Carolina Panthers, he went on to play 100 percent of the snaps at right tackle from then on staring 14 games while playing in all 17 his rookie year.

Now, Glaze heads into Year 2 with a new regime — head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek — and the former Terrapin is doing what he does best: Quietly impressing yet another coaching staff.

“Saw a lot out of DJ Glaze. I thought he’d had a really, really good offseason with us. He looks like he’s ready to go,” Carroll said of Glaze’s performances in both OTAs and mandatory minicamp earlier this month. “He’s a second-year guy, and guys go from year one to year two, and they have the ability to make a big jump, because they’re through the rookie haze, and he’s shown that. So, it looks like a good, solid group.”

Over the course of the Raiders June mandatory minicamp (June 10 through 12), Las Vegas’ first five offensive line read: Kolton Miller at left tackle, Dylan Parham and Jordan Meredith rotating at left guard, Jackson Powers-Johnson at center, Alex Cappa at right guard, and Glaze manning right tackle.

While the groupings can always fluctuate — especially when the Silver & Black reconvene for training camp as a whole group on June 22 (rookies report July 17) — it’s difficult to see either Miller or Glaze displaced from their respective tackle spots. Ditto for Powers-Johnson.

In fact, it’s Miller who summed up how Glaze is operating in Year 2.

“DJ, when he stepped in here, first day of training camp I noticed the maturity he brought,” Raiders starting left tackle said of his counterpart on the right side. “Going into one-on-ones, and taking what he learned from OTAs to training camp, and he’s done the same thing – the whole O-line has been here this offseason. It’s been awesome. He’s going to continue to improve, and I’m excited to see where he ends up.”

Interestingly enough, several analysts and draft pundits highlighted the right tackle position as one of need in both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft. But the Raiders didn’t address the tackle spot until the third round in William & Mary’s Charles Grant, nabbed with the 99th overall pick. A small-school standout, Grant is considered accomplished but raw and likely needs some development to match NFL competition. (He’s also spent his entire collegiate career as a blindside protector on the left).

Thus, it’s easy to see why Glaze is lead dog on the right side. Viewed as a swing tackle-type heading into the 2024 draft — he started at left and right tackle in 2023 and then full blindside in 2024 — and a prospect that likely needs to shift to guard to become an NFL starter, Glaze has scuttled those notions — thus far. And he, along with the group that represented the first five up front are assimilating to Carroll’s coaching staff.

“They’ve done a really solid job, really worked on their technique, really working on the things that you can work on. You can’t work on the physical part of it as much as you would like other than sleds and bags and stuff like that,” Carroll said. “But (offensive line coach/offensive run game coordinator) BC (Brennan Carroll; Pete’s son) has done a really nice job of getting all these guys to look uniformed. They step really well. Their hand placement is really good. Communication seems to be sharp. You know, (offensive coordinator) Chip’s (Kelly) got a really in depth, busy plan that we asked these guys to embrace. Fortunately, (quarterback) Geno (Smith) is kind of the run coordinator on the field, and he changes the things and does the things that we need to do. All of that has worked together really well. So, it looks like a good, solid group. We have good leadership.”

Despite being only 22 and heading into his second season in the NFL, Glaze’s ability to go about his work without much fanfare and often being overlooked can be looked at as a beacon of light to follow for other offensive linemen on the Raiders roster.

There’s always room for improvement and when you look at Glaze from a grades perspective — Pro Football Reference assessed him with a 66.1 overall mark (50th out of 140 tackles) with 61.9 pass blocking grade (79th) and 69.4 run blocking grade (46th). The group also charted Glaze with three sacks allowed (77th) while Pro Football Reference tagged the right tackle with eight overall penalties (six holding, two false starts).

Come training camp and the pads come on, we’ll get to see just how much Glaze has refined his game heading into an important inaugural campaign for the Raiders under Carroll and Spytek.