Silver And Black Pride
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...
