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Raiders Mailbag: Another opportunity for rookies to shine in second preseason game

Aug 12, 2022 at 12:56 PM

Levi Edwards

Digital Team Reporter

Daniel Buford from California asks:

Amongst the rookies, who has impressed you the most?

Zamir White has been extremely impressive, that's been very clear to see.

However, I'm going to give a bit less cliché answer and say Dylan Parham. The third-round guard has impressed not just with his level of play, but his versatility across the offensive line. The athletic big man is also quick off the line of scrimmage, which gives him an advantage.

"For a first game, to play multiple spots like that - I don't think Dylan was out of position much," Head Coach Josh McDaniels said of Parham's first game. "I think the calls when he was at center, I think he was doing a decent job of getting us headed in the right direction there. His communication was pretty good.

"Like most rookies, once you get into games in our league, there's just a different tempo to the reactions and some of those things. He'll see that. A lot of our young guys will see how quickly they need to be able to adjust and react on the field to certain things, but overall I thought Dylan competed hard, played a lot of different snaps at a lot of different spots and gained some valuable experience that will make us better as we go forward."

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Mark Viramontes from Arizona asks:

Who do you have your eye on in the upcoming preseason game?

I will have my eye on the Raiders defensive backs this Sunday.

The secondary has a lot of young players fighting for a roster spot and every snap counts for all of them. The only starters from last year that potentially could play Sunday are Johnathan Abram , Nate Hobbs and Tre’von Moehrig – who all appeared in the Hall of Fame Game. Overall, the secondary looked good against the Jaguars as well, producing one turnover and three pass breakups.

NFL veterans Darius Phillips, Chris Jones and Roderic Teamer will have my full attention in Allegiant against the Vikings. I'll also be watching UDFAs Sam Webb, Bryce Cosby and Isaiah Pola-Mao.

Scott Boe asks:

Has anybody between Keelan Cole, Mack Hollins, Demarcus Robinson and Tyron Johnson start to separate from the pack a little bit yet?

To be honest with you Scott, they've all looked like equally good options to me at this point.

While these four wide receivers are vastly different in their skillset, they've all shown flashes that warrant them a roster spot. Cole is precise route runner with good body control, Robinson knows how to create separation, Hollins' big body, athletic build makes him a red zone threat and Johnson is a speedy deep threat.

Right now, it's anyone job, which makes this preseason of upmost importance to all these receivers. One of them could really start to set himself apart as we hit the halfway mark of Training Camp.

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Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams (17) and wide receiver Mack Hollins (10) on the field for practice at 2022 Training Camp at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center.