Jackson Powers-Johnson is entering just his third NFL season but has already had an up-and-down career. There have been moments to believe in the 2024 second-round pick, but injuries and inconsistent play have left some room for doubt in his ability to remain a starter on the Las Vegas Raiders’ depth chart moving forward. As a result, Powers-Johnson is competing for a first-string guard spot during the Raiders’ training camp.
That being said, the Oregon product has been the first-team offense’s right
guard since the spring practices in Las Vegas, and that carried over to the beginning of camp. Also, it seems like he’s made a strong impression on new offensive line coach Rick Dennison and is making strides in the mental part of the game.
“I’ve seen a guy that’s very receptive,” Dennison said of Powers-Johnson. “He wants to learn. ‘Yes sir, no sir.’ [If I] tell him to do something, he does it the best he can, and he corrects mistakes. He’s been a great teammate.
“…I have [seen consistency from him]. I think he’s done a really good job in the offseason. He’s studied really hard. He’s one of the first guys to answer any question I say in there, and he’s consistent. I wasn’t here, so I couldn’t tell you what happened the last couple years. I know I evaluated him when he came out of the draft, and I think he’s done a great job. He’s working hard, getting better every day.”
It’s worth noting that JPJ has had far from the best position coaches to this point in his career. His first was James Cregg, who was fired halfway through the season and replaced by Joe Philbin. Since then, Cregg has been working for Lane Kiffin in the college ranks, serving as Ole Miss’ assistant offensive line coach last season and is currently LSU’s run game coordinator. And while Philbin has a good resume, he clearly was more of a placeholder to get through the 2024 campaign.
Then, there was last year’s debacle with Brennan Carroll. Reports surfaced after the season that Carroll was in over his head, and one has to assume he likely would have been let go during the season if it weren’t for the fact that his father was the head coach. From the looks of it, neither Pete nor Brennan Carroll will be coaching in the NFL or College Football this season.
Of course, Powers-Johnson has to put the work in and prove himself. But one could argue that he stands to benefit the most from working with a well-tenured offensive line coach like Dennison, who has been a part of four Super Bowl-winning teams and has been coaching in the league since 1995. Based on the coach’s comments, it seems like that’s already making a difference, and the former second-rounder said that’s part of what’s helping him be more consistent so far in camp.
“Going out every day, trying to get better at something, knowing that I can go back to a position room and not be treated differently every single day, be treated the same way, and be treated how the coaches tell us they’re going to treat us,” JPJ said.
“Also just kind of staying off social media. The only thing I look at now is fly fishing videos on YouTube. So just kind of staying off that, staying off the negativity, staying out of the anxiety, and simple, like make it as simple as possible.”
But make no mistake about it; despite a strong start to camp, Powers-Johnson is still in the midst of a battle for a starting job. That was made clear at practice on Thursday, Aug. 6, as he flipped back and forth with second-year guard Caleb Rogers on the right side of the first- and second-string offensive lines. According to assistant head coach Mike McCoy, that’s part of head coach Klint Kubiak’s strategy to determine the five best players in the trenches.
“Coach has put a plan in place and moving guys around to see who can do what and give guys opportunities to show what they can do with different groups, different offense and defense personnel groupings and how we’re rotating players,” McCoy replied when asked about the two guards spliting reps. “So that’s going to be a constant change all throughout camp.”
This shouldn’t come as any surprise. It hasn’t been a secret that Powers-Johnson will have to earn his spot back this summer, and Dennison said that he’ll be mixing up the offensive line rotations as the offense wraps up installing the playbook.
There’s still a lot of time between now and the end of camp, meaning JPJ has to continue to be consistent to win the job. But so far, he’s doing all of the right things and has gotten off to a good start.
