Raiders: Is Jackson Powers-Johnson the future at center?

Through his first six NFL games, Las Vegas Raiders rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson showed flashes of brilliance but lacked consistency down the stretch. But after moving to his more natural position at center in Week 9 vs Cincinnati BengalsPowers-Johnson made a resounding statement by putting together her best performance to date.

The Oregon product earned an elite 90.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focusthe highest mark of any center last week and third-best among offensive linemen at any position. He was dominant as a run-blocker, earning a 91.7 grade in that department—best among centers and second-best overall—and didn’t allow a pressure in pass protection.

JPJ’s outing was impressive enough for him to take over as the Raiders’ starting center moving forward, so let’s dive into the tape and check it out.

The Raiders call inside zone to the weak side of the formation, with the Cody Whitehair and Powers-Johnson combo blocking the 2i-technique defensive tackle (No. 93) up to the WILL linebacker (No. 55). The two get a good initial push, and when Whitehair breaks to the second level, Powers-Johnson keeps his feet moving through contact to extend the defensive tackle to the opposite hash mark.

That, combined with a great block from Jordan Meredith, creates a backside cutback lane for Alexander Mattison to pick up a chunk of gain on the ground. On a side note, Meredith also had a strong performance on Sunday, as the next clip also highlights…

The result of this play isn’t as pretty as the last one when Kolton Miller gets punched across his face, but the double team of Powers-Johnson and Meredith is about as good as it gets. The two not only wheel the defensive tackle out of the weak side A gap, but they also push the defensive tackle into the linebacker.

How about another excellent double team from Powers-Johnson and Meredith for good measure?

The Raiders run the duo this time, and again the center and right guard manage to push the defensive tackle into the second level, erasing a linebacker from the play in the process. The offense could have something special with those two in the trenches as they both played very well in Cincinnati.

Powers-Johnson and Meredith work together again on this middle zone call from the Raiders. The difference is that they scoop block the 2i technique defensive tackle (#93), where the guard’s job is to help the center get to the defender’s outside shoulder so the center can pin the defender inside and create a rushing lane in the B. gap.

This is pretty much teach-tape material from JPJ as he initially uses a bucket step to get on the right path and move laterally, is physical at the point of attack and comes with his hands/punches to help stand up in the defensive tackle. To finish, he turns his hips and with a little help from Meredith, puts the defensive tackle on the ground and effectively reaches the tackle to create the rushing lane.

Las Vegas runs a wham or trap concept here, with DJ Glaze (right tackle) leaving the backside defensive end blocked and Brock Bowers working across the formation to take care of the end.

Meanwhile, JPJ has a down block on a 1-technique nose tackle. He rises up at the point of attack and has a wide hand placement at first, but he maintains a strong base and recovers well by getting his left hand in front of the defender’s shoulder.

That allows him to maintain control of the block, and then the rookie’s strength takes over as he ends up pushing his nose to the second hash mark and creating a rushing lane for Zamir White to score.

One area where the rookie made a big impact was in the Raiders’ stunt pickups as he transitioned into pass protection.

The Bengals provide a tricky pre-snap look by placing four defenders on one side of the offensive line.

That forces the Raiders to use a four-man slide protection, isolating Trey Hendrickson against Thayer Munford Jr. to get a one-on-one matchup for their best pass rusher against a backup left tackle. With the protection scheme, every offensive lineman (except Munford) is responsible for the gap to the right while the running back inserts into the left B gap between the left guard and tackle.

Post-snap, Cincy runs a three-man line play where the nose tackle works across the center’s face and the two standup linebackers step in to find a pass rush lane. So there’s a lot going on here, but Powers-Johnson does a great job of using his left hand to feel the nose tackle while keeping his eyes on his hole to see the linebackers going inside.

It allows him to recognize the line play and push the nose tackle wide to keep the nose tackle away from the quarterback.

If this game breaks down a bit further, Whitehair should pick up the no. 55 as 55 loops into his hole. However, he follows no. 57 instead and Ameer Abdullah does a good job of correcting Whitehair by picking up 55.

Here, the Bengals provide a much simpler or more traditional with four down linemen and no line plays. Since the center is exposed before the snap and turns to the right post-snap, he is responsible for the right A gap.

The 3-technique tries to beat Meredith with an inside pass rush move, but Powers-Johsnon sits there, waiting for the defender. JPJ has a good pad level and keeps his hands tight, effectively stoning the defensive tackle’s interior movement.

After contact, Powers-Johnson locks out the defensive tackle and uses his right arm to knock the defender’s hand away from his chest. This completes the repetition as the interior of the pocket is perfectly maintained. Granted, the exterior is a different story…

Our final clip builds on the latter as it’s another example of excellent use of hands by Powers-Johnson.

This time he turns left and to the side of the 2i technique. To begin with, he loses ground against the bull rush. However, he recovers well by grappling with the defensive tackle and using his hands to get the defensive tackle’s hands off his chest. It helps slow the defender’s momentum and allows JPJ to re-anchor and win the rep.

Given Andre James’ struggles this season, I don’t see why the Raiders would move Powers-Johnson back to guard with how well he played at center last weekend.