The Las Vegas Raiders have had a busy offseason, especially on the coaching side. Bringing the retired veteran head coach Pete Carrol out of retirement and handing him the reins, the Raiders have now brought in offensive minded Chip Kelly to be their offensive coordinator.
Kelly's most successful stop in his coaching career was as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks, and although he and former Duck and now-Raider offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson weren't in Eugene at the same time, "JPJ" is clearly excited about the Oregon ties to his new offensive coordinator.
Whether it's at center or at guard, Powers-Johnson proved in his rookie season to be a steal as a second-round pick. He's durable, physically gifted, and plays with a mean streak, regularly moving grown men out of the way with force.
The future of the Raiders will hinge plenty on what Kelly and Carrol do with this roster, as well as how they go about addressing the need for a franchise quarterback. One option that also involves Powers-Johnson is former Ole Miss and Senior Bowl standout Jaxson Dart, who was Powers-Johnson's high school teammate. The two of them won three State championship in high school with each other.
Dart's draft stock is all over the board right now. Some teams seem to have him as their QB2 in the class, some analysts think he's going in the first round, some think he shouldn't be drafted higher than the third. Regardless of how you feel, it seems like the Powers-Johnson ties are linked heavily with the future direction of the Raiders, with the 2025 NFL Draft set to take place in two and a half months. It's exciting times for Raiders fans.
