Interior trench battle: Jackson Powers-Johnson, Dylan Parham, Alex Cappa, Jordan Meredith competing for 3 starting spots

John Spytek told reporters it’s an open competition for the starting guard and center spots

At the NFL Owners meetings this week, Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek dropped an interesting nugget of information when it comes to the team’s depth chart for this upcoming season.

According to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, Spytek said Jackson Powers-Johnson, Dylan Parham, Alex Cappa and Jordan Meredith will compete for the three starting interior offensive line spots this summer.

Granted, some of this was expected when the Raiders signed Cappa to a two-year, $11 million contract in free agency. While $5.5 million per season isn’t an expensive deal in the current guard market, it is starting money for a right guard as the figure ranks 16th at the position, per Over The Cap.

So, it was expected that Cappa and Parham will be battling it out in training camp, especially since the latter is entering a contract year. Also, Cappa has exclusively lined up at right guard during his seven-year career while Parham has been notably better on the right side than the left, creating a natural competition.

But what’s interesting is that Powers-Johnson and Meredith are included in the position battle.

One would assume the 2024 second-round pick has the first-string center job locked up after putting together an impressive rookie campaign, and Meredith ended the regular season last year as Pro Football Focus’ seventh-highest graded guard. However, both will have to fight to return to their respective posts.

Additionally, Spytek mentioned that Powers-Johnson, Parham and Meredith will compete for the starting center job. Maybe the new regime doesn’t want JPJ to get to comfortable, but it seems like his job to lose.

Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images

The Oregon product took over the reigns from Andre James midseason last fall and performed well enough that the organization felt comfortable moving on from James during free agency, one-year after the veteran signed a three-year contract.

Also, outside of 24 preseason snaps in 2023, Meredith has no game experience at center and Parham has only lined up there during backup/emergency situations when James was injured in 2022 and 2023. Granted, the former likely snapped the ball plenty during his practice squad days and the latter was viewed as a potential center coming out of Memphis. Not to mention, Powers-Johnson played well at left guard last season, too.

Still, it feels like the Raiders will most likely roll out Meredith at left guard, Powers-Johnson at center and either Cappa or Parham at right guard. That puts each player at the position where they’ve had the most success so far during their respective NFL careers, meaning the real battle is the one most were expecting; Cappa versus Parham.

If that’s the case, it will be interesting to see what the coaching staff prioritizes. Cappa is coming off a down year while being on the wrong side of 30, which could make Parham the better short-term option. However, if the team is looking to build for the future, starting the guy who is under contract for next season might make more sense.

To complicate matters, the NFL Draft is about three weeks away where another contender could hop into the proverbial ring in the trenches. While the question was about the Raiders’ plan at right tackle, Spytek’s response mentioned that he has nine draft picks to work with and that he loves offensive linemen (h/t Tafur).

So, another interior offensive lineman could be added to the roster by the end of the month and it sounds like DJ Glaze’s job isn’t 100 percent safe, opening up another can of worms/another competition for a starting job up front…