Raiders OL Dylan Parham From Training Camp

 Guard Dylan Parham 

Q: We talked to Andre James and Kolton Miller earlier this week and they said that they noticed that you seem to be stronger and bigger coming out in the offseason. I guess first question is how much are you up to now weight-wise, and why did you feel like it was important for you to focus on that in the offseason? 

Parham: "I've gotten around the 315-ish range this season. So last year, around Week 7-ish, I came down with a really bad cold and I wasn't really getting good rest, and I was so sick. Like I ran a fever like 102 before that Texans game, and I literally dropped maybe 12 pounds within three days. So I got pretty sick early on. So this past offseason, I just wanted to get back to feeling like myself. And so for me, I played really well in Chargers week when I was like 315, so I was like, 'Okay, that's where I want to get back to.' And then strength-wise, just focusing on trying to build my base a little bit more and then trying to get my upper body right with that as well." 

Q: How long did it take you after that to get back to feeling alright or was it the rest of the year kind of lingering? 

Parham: "Literally the rest of the year 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. It was definitely tough for me. Towards the end of this season, I want to say I was like 307-ish, but I never really got back to where I wanted to be." 

Q: Last year you told me you focused on your technical footwork in terms of firing off the ball. Can you talk about that and what that progress has been like going into year two, and just the general benefit of being in year two? 

Parham: "It definitely feels different just me feeling more comfortable. Last year obviously there was a lot of different terms I was trying to focus on and finish, and I feel like my fixes were a little bit of me just having to understand what it is I was trying to do. So this year I feel a lot more confident and comfortable in the scheme, so I can focus so much more on that rather than trying to learn to the playbook and trying to learn exactly what I need to do footwork and fundamental-wise." 

Q: When you're in college and your offseason starts, you're still going to school doing all that type of stuff. As an NFL player, your offseason is over, it's still your job as an NFL player now. How different was that mindset of being able to go into an offseason, not worry about any of that, just worry about your craft and your job? 

Parham: "It definitely feels great, especially coming off of your rookie season. They always say it's going to be your longest, that's how you hit your rookie wall because you really don't get that break. And so this first year I was just thinking, 'Be disciplined in the way you do things,' because obviously we're all competing for a job when we get back. So for myself, as soon as we got done I took a little break myself and my wife, and then after that it was just like, 'Okay, it's time for work.' So I really didn't think too much about it. And then just enjoying the break of my body, being able to take that relaxation, being able to get massages and things like that, just making sure I could take care of my body to the fullest so that when it was time for camp, I was able to be one hundred percent." 

Q: When was the last time you were able to do that? Because after your last year at Memphis, you're in preparing mode for the Draft and getting ready for the Draft and all of that so there's probably not a break at that point? 

Parham: "The last time I took really good self-care was maybe like 6th grade or something like that. It's been a long time since I just had a full summer off to where, 'Okay, I'm really just focused on this. I can really just enjoy my time.' So, this was really nice, being able to get your work done by like one or two, and then you have the rest of the day. Most days I was just like, 'That felt great.'" 

Q: During some self-evaluation, you said that you kind of fought an uphill battle at the end of last season but you still played relatively well. Does that give you more confidence going into a year where it's like, 'If I can just stay healthy and put it all together, this is what I can do?' 

Parham: "Absolutely. And then for myself, just getting that extra year with the guys. I mean, that's one of the biggest things about offensive line, just making that link, making sure we're all on one accord. So just having a full year under my belt, under the scheme, being back to myself, being healthy, and then on top of that just having that communication with the guys, I feel like it's going to be a really terrific year." 

Q: You had a very successful rookie year and I want to ask you about a rookie, UDFA McClendon Curtis. They like him, high on him, very high football IQ, reminds a lot of people of you. What do you see in him, and I know you're still young, but have you been able to mentor him, and what he's what do you think of him? 

Parham: "Big Curt [McClendon Curtis], man. Big Curt, he's a very smart player, a really big guy, and he has really big and strong hands. So obviously protection-wise, I feel like he's going to be a really big part of that, and then just run-blocking wise, he has a really good build all around. He has really nice size, really good hands and really good length at that position. So obviously those are things that you look for within a guard, and just his ability to be able to play and then learning the offense is something that's really big for him. So he's been able to come in and do that, and then just be able to showcase a little bit of that. He's been doing a really good job with that." 

Q: You started games at both guard positions and at center last year, and Coach McDaniels has talked often about - especially on the offensive line - how key versatility is. Personally, how key is it to you? 

Parham: "Obviously that was something that I was really focused on within my first year. Before you get into the league, it's just you really don't have your role, so one thing Josh [McDaniels] always taught us was, 'You make your role whatever it is. Whatever you make it, that's your role.' So for me, I was just thinking, I didn't know where I was going to be at. I didn't know where I was going to start at. So, I've never really had a thought, 'Okay, once I get there, get comfortable.' Because I knew that in the league anything can fluctuate from guard to center. And I knew I was gonna be interior, I just never had the thought of what it would be. So when I went through three positions by Week 5, that was what I expected it to be because I didn't know what it was going to be. So having that foundation of 'Okay, you can be really anywhere in the interior.' I just had that mindset that I needed to be on go and ready whenever." 

Q: How fine is that line then between, 'Okay, I'm versatile, I can play wherever they need me to play' but then also, 'I need to get comfortable in one spots so I can show them that I belong here'? 

Parham: "I mean for me - and we had the saying sort of at Memphis like, 'You just have to be an offensive lineman.' You really don't have a guard position, or center position, it's just like, you play offensive line. So whatever coach needed for you to play, that's what you would play." 

Q: In college you had a kind of journey where you gained a lot of weight over time. Did that kind of helped inform you coming into this offseason to fine tune your physique since you'd already kind of been through it before? 

Parham: "So for me, in college I was sort of battling my weight progression. I came in as a tight end, and I was maybe 240-ish and then I just kept trying to pound from there. So I jumped to 270 one year, and then 280, 290. And then my final season, I want to say I hit 315-ish, 316. That was the heaviest I'd been in my life. And before I had said that I was like, 'No way I'll play offensive line, no way I'll get that big. I'll never touch 300.' And now I'm hitting 315 and it was sort of crazy at the time. And so for me, just trying to make sure that I kept battling. And then I played around 310-315 my senior year, and I was like, 'Okay, I feel comfortable, but I know how to get there to where I can maintain it.' So that was my really the biggest thing that helped me in Memphis." 

Q: How beneficial is it for you that you look down the offensive line and there are guys that you played with last year? It's the same group - obviously there are people competing, but the fact that you have that continuity and you guys all know each other, you know how each other think. 

Parham: "It feels great because you can sort of have unspoken things, and you can see it and you don't even really have to say it. So there may be a change in the defense to where we should have to normally say something to be able to communicate throughout the offensive line. But with all of our eyes being connected to one person, it really doesn't have to be said. So I feel like that's something that really helps offensive linemen play fast and play better together." 

Q: What are some of your goals heading into this year. I know last year you had some goals as a rookie, but what are some of your goals now that you're in year two? 

Parham: "Just to keep improving each and every day. I just want to get a little bit better than I did the day before. So, last year there was sort of a foundation set being able to play as many games as I did as a rookie, so for this year I just want to be able to continue to grind each and every day and just get 1% better." 

Q: You talked earlier about battling sickness and trying to work your way back and that process. How much of a mental struggle is that as well to just kind of deal with trying to battle back the way that you were? 

Parham: "It was definitely tough. Just once again, at that time I was still trying to find my way. I literally went from I think center for the first two games back to guard around that area. So just a lot of the playbook trying to learn it still. And then week in and week out it's just like different schemes, it's going to be different defenses that you see. So trying to learn that and then just trying to work on myself physically. I was just trying to eat, trying to get back to the way I was, trying to do it any way I could, protein, just making sure I still try to take care of my body because obviously just being light at that position and then just being sickly, it definitely was tough that week for sure. But then for myself, just trying to make sure that I was still staying on top of my fundamentals and techniques, because I was just like that's a really big thing. I really don't have the weight that I wanted to be during that time period, so just trying to make sure ,'Okay, I'll make sure I fine tune everything else so that I can overcome it." 

Q: How do you assess last season when you look back and you talked about everything you went through? How do you think your rookie season was and where are the specific areas you want to improve on this year? 

Parham: "I feel like I had an okay rookie season, definitely a lot of things to learn from like even just watching film from last year, I was just like, "Why did I do that?' But it was because I was just wasn't 100% comfortable. It was just like I was learning so much and it was a lot of information put on me and it was a lot of load, but I just had to realize that , 'Okay, this is what the NFL is.' So it's not going to slow down for you, so you've just got to pick it up and keep moving. And on top of that, just getting close with the guys. The way we communicate so well together no, it's just like it flies so much faster, so it's not even as much thinking. I was talking to Josh [McDaniels] the other day on the field and he just asked me how does it feel, and I was just like, 'I feel so much better, because I'm confident now. It's like this is not my first time hearing these terms.' I've now had a whole year under my belt and now we're gong through the same thing, so now everything has slowed down for me. I feel like that's when you can play at your best." 

Q: What was it like for you to cap off your rookie season with a wedding? A lot of Raiders did that too. 

Parham: "Yeah, I was just like, 'I don't know what's going on,' during that time period. But I just think first of all, it was an enjoyable day. I'll never forget it. It was long. I'll say it was a very long day. We literally wake up at six o'clock and you're literally going to the end of the night. But it was something that my wife and I were trying to get done and we literally got engaged right before she finished her school in Memphis, and so we came down together. It was just a long journey, and we really we enjoyed it. We enjoyed our day. It was just a blessing to be able to do that with a woman that I've been with for seven years, so it was amazing." 

Q: I want to ask you quickly about Greg Van Roten. He's a guy that comes in, he's durable, he knows the game. How much does he help this offensive line? 

Parham: GVR [Greg Van Roten] he came in, he's in year 12 right now, so he's played a lot of ball, seen a lot of things and has a lot of experience. Even today, GVR pulled me to the side when we were working some pass pro drills and was just giving me little tips and tricks on what he's done, what he's seen and what's really helped him maintain and be able to stay in the league for so long. So, obviously I'm just trying to be a sponge and soak in a lot of those things that he teaches, me tells me and then just seeing the way he maneuvers in meetings. The way he's picked it up so fast the time he's been here has been crazy. Hearing him be able to spit out the terms as if he's been here the entire time like this is his system is really amazing to see."

The Silver and Black open the preseason by hosting the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Aug. 13, at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT.

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