Raiders offensive tackle DJ Glaze (71) consoles quarterback Geno Smith (7) after a hit injured ...
Raiders offensive tackle DJ Glaze (71) consoles quarterback Geno Smith (7) after a hit injured his hand during the second half of an NFL game against the Denver Broncos at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025 in Las Vegas. (Heidi Fang/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @HeidiFang
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DJ Glaze sought to strengthen his conditioning and better his hand striking this NFL offseason, leading him to do both at once with one fell focus.
Boxing.
“Trying to get my hands going,” Glaze said Saturday morning at Intermountain Health Performance Center. “Start the fight faster. I think boxing really helped with it.”
Finish it stronger. Helps with that, too.
The third-year right tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders is handling the first-team reps again, poised to start for a third straight season as a third-round draft pick in 2024. The struggles he went through last season — when he ranked 65th among 89 qualified offensive tackles, per Pro Football Focus — gave Glaze the incentive to improve this offseason, steadily solidifying the right side of the line through the first nine practices of training camp.
Glaze started 17 games last year and 14 games his rookie year, drawing on experience and offseason improvement — along with the tutelage of offensive line coach Rick Dennison.
“DJ is really working hard. Everyday there’s little things,” Dennison said. “… He does have great length. I mean, he uses his arm length really well and he’s working really hard at it. He’s made some progress, but just like the rest of them, there’s things we’ve got to get better at.”
Standing 6-foot-4 at 331 pounds, Glaze was part of an offensive line that was underprepared, overmatched and outworked in 2025, prompting the additions of Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum and left guard Spencer Burford. For his part in the impotent offense, Glaze, according to PFF, surrendered 10 sacks to go with 48 pressures and five penalties.
An undoubted disappointment.
Basic boxing drills are inherently exhaustive, thereby helping Glaze both better his wind and use his hands for leverage while blocking. He acknowledged “last year wasn’t the year you wanted to have. But with the culture and coaching and the staff that’s come here, it’s done nothing but make us better. So, I feel like it’s improvement everywhere, all across, and I’m looking forward to getting going and seeing it translate in real game-time situations.”
So far, Glaze is enjoying his fit in coach Klint Kubiak’s zone-run, play-action offense — holding his own against Raiders defenders and battling with star defensive end Maxx Crosby. The Pro Bowl pass rusher is hard to handle but Glaze has won his fair share of reps.
That bodes well for when Glaze is matched with the NFL’s other top pass rushers.
“No better challenge to have than to go against what I think is the best rusher in the league,” Glaze said. “If he’s not out there making plays, then none of us are getting better. I love it. It’s great every day. Good challenge for me. I look forward to it every day.”
Glaze looks forward to football in general as one of the team’s most durable players, its lone offensive lineman to start every game in 2025. He’s eager to show he can do it for the Raiders again in 2026 — performing better than ever, he prepares and intends.
Added Glaze: “Just being available, that’s the biggest thing. I feel like the in-game reps are what makes you better. You learn from it. You’re not going to win (them) all. You might lose some. Whatever. But you just try to brush it off and learn from it. And that’s the biggest thing for me.”
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.