Dylan Parham is on a quest to get '1 percent better' every day

Jul 29, 2023 at 03:18 PM

Levi Edwards

Digital Team Reporter

It's astonishing to look back at Dylan Parham's success from his rookie season when you consider that he wasn't feeling his best for the majority of it.

The 2022 third-round pick out of Memphis started all 17 games last season at all three positions within the interior offensive line. He earned the trust of the staff and team early on en route to a PFWA First Team All-Rookie selection. However, according to Parham, it was a stressful, uphill battle. He fell ill going into Week 7 against the Houston Texans and lost 12 pounds within the week. Despite grinding out the rest of the season, he wasn't able get back to his full strength.

"I was trying to get back to how I felt, but with me burning so many calories throughout the week, just trying to fight back out of that hole," Parham told the media Saturday. "It was definitely tough for me, like toward the end of the season, I was like 307-ish but I never got back to where I wanted to be."

Now during Training Camp, Parham says he's sitting at a muscular 315 pounds, making leaps and bounds in the weight room during the offseason. He stayed back in Las Vegas to get a full offseason training program under his belt in the Raiders facility. Putting on muscle isn't anything new for Parham, who transitioned from a 240-pound tight end his freshman year in college to a 310-pound First Team All-AAC selection going into the NFL Draft.

"It definitely feels great, especially coming off of your rookie season," said Parham. "They always say it's going to be the longest. That's how you hit your rookie wall, you don't really get that break in. So this first year, I was just thinking, 'Be disciplined in the way you do things,' because obviously we are competing for a job when we get back.

"For myself, as soon we got done, I took a little break for myself and my wife and then after that it was just like, 'OK, it's time for work.' I really didn't think too much about it. Just enjoying the break of my body, being able to take that relaxation being able to get massages and things like that. Making sure that I can take care of my body to the fullest so that when it was time for camp, I was able to be 100 percent."

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The improvements Parham has made is already evident to teammates Kolton Miller and Andre James, who have been the anchors of the offensive line for awhile now. They believe big things may be on the horizon for the versatile guard.

"He had a lot of experience last year. He's learned a lot," Miller said of Parham. "He's put on the strength this offseason, you see it. It's been awesome to see. Happy to see him back, and again, we're working those combinations and it feels just like it was yesterday, so that's awesome to see."

"He's a dude that comes in every day and just grinds, and I was really impressed with the way he carried himself in the meeting room and on the field," James added. "He's a guy that responds to adversity very well, and you want to play with a guy that's like that. That's one of my boys, so happy to have him there."

Everything from Parham's play on the field to his demeanor while speaking indicates that the second-year player has grown not only in strength, but in confidence, especially with a year under his belt in this offensive scheme.

"I just want to get a little bit better than I did the day before," Parham said. "Last year, there was a foundation set being able to play as many games as I did as a rookie, and so for this year, I just want to be able to continue to grind each and every day and just get one percent better."

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Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman Jordan Meredith (61) before practice at 2023 Training Camp at Intermountain Health Performance Center.