Fair or not, Jackson Powers-Johnson will have the spotlight on him in his second season. Likely the full-time center for the Las Vegas Raiders, the pressure is on.
When former general manager Tom Telesco drafted JPJ in the second round of last year’s NFL draft, he surely envisioned a foundational piece. We all know that you build a team from within the trenches. By selecting the Oregon product, Telesco certainly pointed the offense in that direction. While Telesco’s gone, the Raiders are still looking to their sophomore center to lead the way.
All indications point to Powers-Johnson as the Raiders’ interior offensive line starter. Barring injury or a surprising development at training camp, the Silver and Black are projected to have a “breakout player,” according to Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus.
The Raiders should just leave Jackson Powers-Johnson at center…
“Powers-Johnson’s grading profile was better last season when he played center. His pass blocking, generally considered his ace in the hole, was significantly better when he played center,” Wasserman wrote. Clearly, the difference at guard versus center is significant for Powers-Johnson. “His 5.2% pressure rate allowed at guard is a relatively average mark. His 2.4% pressure rate allowed at center was the sixth-best rate among centers with at least 200 reps last season,” Wasserman added.
Even if you’re not a big proponent of PFF’s analytics, it’s hard to argue with the evidence. Powers-Johnson simply looks better at center; he’s in his element when playing the position. Obviously, it wasn’t a perfect outing last season but with a new staff in place, many of his shortcomings can be rectified.
Also, his track record in college further backs up the notion that center is where he should stay moving forward. In fact, he received the Rimington Trophy, which is given to the best center in college football for the 2023 season, as Wasserman pointed out.
There are other factors that are going to help improve the situation around Powers-Johnson as well. For one, the Raiders now have a competitive and innovative offensive play caller in Chip Kelly. Having a Pro Bowl signal-caller directing traffic is also going to help the starting center as well; that’s not Gardner Minshew II back there anymore. Needless to say, Powers-Johnson’s ascension this season will be something worth monitoring; maybe PFF is onto something here.
