Raiders offensive line: Jackson Powers-Johnson takes command at pivot

2nd-year talent is literal center of attention in Las Vegas’ trenches

Sometimes, you’ve got to take what you want. No sitting one one’s laurels and taking things as they come — carpe diem. Seize the day.

That’s not an easy thing to do for a rookie in the NFL.

But for the Las Vegas Raiders neophyte Jackson Powers-Johnson, taking command wasn’t just the proper thing to do, it was the only thing to do. The University of Oregon product’s — the Raiders second-round pick (44th overall) n the 2024 NFL Draft ability and willingness to step forward and forge his own path at the pivot and claim the job as his improved the Silver & Black’s offensive line.

“I went up to AP (then-head coach Antonio Pierce) and I was like ‘Coach, respectfully, like I’m gonna (expletive) play center. I won the (Dave) Rimington (Award), like I can I can do this and like I don’t care what you say. I’m gonna go play center,’” Powers-Johnson told teammate Maxx Crosby on The Rush Podcast earlier this week. “That’s kind of the first time I took ownership and he was kind of like surprised he’s like “All right (expletive) it, go.”

Apparently, there’s nothing lame about this particular breed of Duck.

With former starting pivot Andre James no longer with the Raiders — he was released and since signed with AFC West division rival Los Angeles Chargers — Powers-Johnson is at the center of attention on Las Vegas offensive line.

And to think, the 2023 Dave Rimington Trophy recipient — bestowed to the most outstanding center in Division I football — wasn’t even considered to be an option at the pivot by the former coaching staff speaks to the volume of incompetence the Raiders navigated in a tumultuous 2024 season that plain as day showed the warts of having a first-time full-time head coach at the helm.

“ I was a pretty good guard but like I think of myself as a like a damn good center,” Powers-Johnson expanded on Crosby’s podcast. “Like I’m gonna be a little cocky for a little bit like I think of I feel like I’m a damn good center. like I did my (expletive) in college. I won the Rimington and all that kind of fun stuff and doing guard definitely made me appreciate me playing center because I wasn’t really even supposed to play center.

“Like this is kind of a funny story that I’ve told a couple people but we’re playing the Chiefs — I think it’s the first time … week I don’t know what week we’re in, I think it was like week five or six — and Andre (James) ended up going down. And they were going to put someone in else in at center who hadn’t gotten snaps all week at it and I was just I was irate — I was pissed. So, they’re trying to find someone to like start those snap to the to Gardner at the time.”

That’s culminated in Powers-Johnson, a rookie mind you, emphatically telling his head coach (also a full-time rookie head honcho) what was going to happen. Even though Pierce surrounded himself with a wealth of experience with a coaching staff that included veteran coaches like Marvin Lewis and Joe Philbin (who remains on the current staff under new head coach Pete Carroll), dire mistakes scuttled AP’s one-and-done tenure. Either the coaches around Pierce wanted him to experience the growing pains or he didn’t listen, either way, it’s a brand new regime.

Powers-Johnson isn’t interested in looking back as he’s all ahead forward, as the rest of the Raiders are under Carroll and Co. Las Vegas center is all about doing what the team needs from him. But he’s got vice grips around the starting pivot gig and he isn’t going to go quietly into the night if this new staff and regime have different plans.

“You know, I’ll do what the team needs me to do but I’m gonna make it a hard decision about me playing center or guard,” Powers-Johnson noted.

The shift back inside to center not only elevated Las Vegas’ offensive line play, but it exponentially increased Powers-Johnson’s own belief.

“And then that’s when I kind of got confidence and you know I started having like a lot of fun in games because I was just kind of back in the saddle.”

In fact, Powers-Johnson had quite the telling introduction to Las Vegas’ top pick in the 2025 draft — Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, taken with the sixth overall pick — at the team’s facility in early May.

Attitude Adjustment

Powers-Johnson freely notes he wants to be seen as an aggressive and violent linemen. Las Vegas’ center is indeed a bruiser. But it wasn’t he physical acclimation that was the most taxing as he transition from Oregon Ducks brand of football to Las Vegas Raiders variant of the game.

“I think it’s for me it was mental. I mean like you got to know way more cuz in college like they can’t give you as much of the picture because like you got to go to sociology class you know,” Powers-Johnson said. “In the NFL they give you everything and it’s more mental. Being able to see things in a new different language like getting into the NFL is a new language like in college we were just like ‘Okay point to front side guy.’ That was it now it’s like ‘Okay we got rotation and we’re going to point the mic in this certain rotate.’”

The 22-year-old even provided insight on the differences in preparation in college compared to the pros.

“I think the players in college are better — not better as in more talented — but playing harder,” Powers-Johnson noted. “Every single player you play in college they did a fourth quarter pro program, they did as just as much as work as you. In the NFL some of the older guys like don’t go to OTAS some of the other guys have taken longer times and you can kind of see it.

“But on the flip side of that you play some guys where it’s just like: “Oh, Oh! This is why you’re getting paid $200 million dollars. This is why you’re valued at so much so I think it it definitely is the mental transition.”