Plenty of attention has been given to the Las Vegas Raiders’ first two draft picks, tight end Brock Bowers and guard Jackson Powers-Johnson. But the team’s third-round pick, tackle DJ Glaze, also has a ton of potential and it is already showing itself in training camp.
In the team’s first unofficial depth chart Glaze was listed as the Raiders’ backup right tackle behind Thayer Munford Jr. But when Munford suffered a minor hand issue, Glaze jumped right into the first team. And his work impressed both head coach Antonio Pierce as well as GM Tom Telesco.
Pierce had a ton of praise for Glaze, noting that he didn’t flinch when matched up with team captain Maxx Crosby and only improved from there, via Levi Edwards of Raiders.com:
“He showed up,” Antonio Pierce said of Glaze. “He showed up in a big way. I mean, didn’t blink, didn’t flinch. Munford went down, and he popped in there and first rep was against Maxx. OK, that’s always going to be tough. But as the practice went on, you just saw a guy growing.”
Telesco continued with the praise for Glaze, calling him ‘incredible’ in training camp so far:
“DJ Glaze has been really incredible,” Telesco said. “To start the camp the way he has at 21 years old, to block these guys he’s been blocking, really happy to see that as a young player. It was cool to see on Tuesday, his first day in pads, everyone is a bit anxious especially a rookie at 21 years old. … All of a sudden DJ is in the huddle, first snap of training camp full pads and he’s got Maxx Crosby right there over him. And he held his own, which is hard.”
Finding multiple core players in a single draft class can really accelerate a franchise’s timeline and greatly improve a team out of nowhere. So far in camp it looks like the Raiders may have potentially done that which will serve this team well both immediately and in the future.
Raiders rookie DJ Glaze will continue to play confidently
It can’t be easy for a rookie to be thrown into the fire, especially when having to face off with the likes of Maxx Crosby on a regular basis. But DJ Glaze made it clear that he always has a level of confidence and that isn’t going anywhere.
Glaze noted that the more reps he can get, the better player he will become and he has always had the confidence, but is now getting the experience to match it. He added that whether he wins or loses the battles, he will continue to do everything confidently.
