After a quiet first day of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders traded down and made their first pick in the third round at No. 90 overall, selecting guard Dylan Parham out of Memphis.
General Manager Dave Ziegler met with the media following the pick Friday night, giving insight into the selection while also describing his first draft as general manager. Read through for some of the best soundbites from Ziegler's media availability.
On No. 90 pick Dylan Parham's versatility:
"Definitely a part of the allure, the value. Again, we talked about it last week, the value of a guy that can come in and play two spots just adds depth to your team. That's an important part of the evaluation. ... Really what we're going to do is we'll let him come in and see what he can do. The more that he can do, we're going to allow him to do."
On trading down to No. 90:
"It gives you more flexibility here as we go throughout the draft. You can look at it a couple different ways – it can give you some more swings in terms of more players and it just gives you more collateral too to move up and down the board and those types of things. I'd say overall it was nice because I think it gives you more flexibility over the next couple days."
On what Parham brings to the roster:
"We'll see, but he's going to have to come in here and earn it. First and foremost, he's a rookie. Like we talked about before, there's a lot of transitions that are going to take place. It's going to be up to him how he improves the roster in terms of his work, dedication and those types of things."
On what the Raiders like about Parham:
"Athletic offensive linemen are attractive players. People that can play in space, guys that can play in the second level, guys that can play in the screen game, guys that can pull and hit movement and things like that – those are good fits for our offensive system."
On how Rounds 1-3 of the draft have played out:
"It fell, in a lot of ways, just kind of how we thought it would in terms of where our board was at. There's still some value out there. Every position's a little bit different, some are more picked through than others, but we're excited about some of the opportunities we'll have over the next couple days."
On his first draft as a general manager:
"I enjoyed it. It's a lot of fun. There's stress involved, there's no question about that. There's periods of being anxious and all those different feelings, I think that's a natural part of the process. Whether it's your first draft or whether it's your 20th draft, I think you're always going to have that. It's kind of like getting ready for a game or playing a game, there's some butterflies. You're anxious and you want to see how it all goes and you want to do well, so that was part of it, but it was exciting and it was fun."
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas.
The NFL Green Room before the start of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The NFL Green Room before the start of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The NFL Green Room before the start of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The NFL Green Room before the start of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The NFL Green Room before the start of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The NFL Green Room before the start of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The NFL Green Room before the start of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Jerseys hang on racks backstage before the start of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Las Vegas Raiders' swag in the NFL Draft Theater before fans arrive for the 2022 NFL Draft.
Las Vegas Raiders' swag in the NFL Draft Theater before fans arrive for the 2022 NFL Draft.
Fans walk around the NFL Fan Experience before the start of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
Las Vegas Raiders fans walk down the red carpet during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2022 NFL Draft Experience at the 2022 NFL Draft.
A general view of the draft stage during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Jenny Arata, hometown of Kyiv, Ukraine, during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Members of the armed forces present the colors during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Singer Kodi Lee performs during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Singer Kodi Lee performs during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Rapper and actor Ice Cube in the crowd during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Rapper and actor Ice Cube in the crowd during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4), tight end Darren Waller (83), Raiders alumnus Marcus Allen and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during the first round of the NFL football 2022 NFL Draft.
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) and rapper and actor Ice Cube during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Rapper and actor Ice Cube during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and rapper and actor Ice Cube during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Las Vegas Raiders alumnus Marcus Allen during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Raiderettes Kristina, Camryn, Vicky and Maddie during Day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Raiderettes Maddie, Vicky, Camryn and Kristina during Day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Raiderette Vicky during Day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Raiderettes Maddie, Vicky, Camryn and Kristina during Day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Celebrity magician Criss Angel performs during Day 2 the 2022 NFL Draft.
Celebrity magician Criss Angel performs during Day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Celebrity magician Criss Angel performs during Day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Celebrity magician Criss Angel performs during Day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Actor Keegan-Michael Key announces a pick during Day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Las Vegas Raiders Hall of Famer Marcus Allen and entertainer Wayne Newton on stage during Day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Las Vegas Raiders Hall of Famer Marcus Allen on stage during Day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Entertainer Wayne Newton on stage during Day 2 of the 2022 NFL Draft.
