A pivot at the pivot.
Trying saying that 10 times fast.
While it was assumed second-year offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson would assume the mantle as the center on the Las Vegas Raiders offensive line, head coach Pete Carroll and his coaching staff decided otherwise. Through offseason competition, which some viewed as fugazi, Jordan Meredith is the man in the middle while Powers-Johnson shifts over to right guard.
Rimington Trophy, be damned!, apparently. (The Dave Rimington Trophy is bestowed upon the best center in all of college football which Powers-Johnson won in his final season with the Oregon Ducks.)
But just because a prospect wins a coveted collegiate honor, it doesn’t necessarily mean that translates to the pros. Powers-Johnson — taken with the 44th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft — is one example of this. So is teammate and safety Trey Taylor, who won the Jim Thorpe Award (given to the best collegiate defensive back) in 2023, and was waived during initial cut down to the 53-man roster and is now on Las Vegas’ practice squad.
Perhaps we should’ve seen the shift up front a lot earlier than when it became clear Meredith, a 27-year-old undrafted free agent, supplanted the 22-year-old Powers-Johnson at the pivot. Since his arrival, Carroll has consistently preached communication being vital for his Raiders. And that’s apparently the biggest difference between Meredith and Powers-Johnson.
“He’s a good player, and he communicates, and he plays hard, man. He’s a good athlete, really strong. And we’re always talking too,” Raiders veteran guard Alex Cappa, who had been at right guard next to Meredith before Powers-Johnson took the reins at the position, said of the Raiders new center. “We come off to the sideline and we’re talking about the previous play. And I like the guys that are engaged like that, that you can really discuss and make sure you are seeing things the same way.”
Cappa, who is now a reserve lineman, said that in late July. And two weeks later, left guard Dylan Parham reiterated Meredith’s ability to bark out the adjustments and get his fellow lineman all on the same page as the standout item.
“He’s a great communicator, man. So, I mean, he communicates, he tells you exactly what you need to do. He makes it very simplistic for everybody else on the offense line to get to where we need to go,” Parham explained. “So that’s something that you want to look for in a center. Just understanding the defense, understanding what it is that we’re trying to do as offense, and then being able to play fast. He’s done a great job of it so far.”
Meredith himself had a hilarious take on his ability to talk to his fellow linemen and be a conduit of communication in the all-important trenches.
“Yeah, I was told the quarterback’s the president and the center is the vice president,” Meredith noted. “I think there is a lot of communication involved. Anytime that you get a bunch of people working together, you got to communicate and be on the same page, whether it’s pass or run. So getting the calls out quick and decisive and not hesitating and just going with what the right call is, that helps everybody else out and getting the play going.”
Thus, it’ll be steady Meredith at center Week 1 with Powers-Johnson taking his brute force nature to right guard as the group of Kolton Miller (left tackle), Parham (left guard), Meredith, Powers-Johnson, and DJ Glaze (right tackle) are who Carroll and his staff identified as the best five offensive linemen.
Meredith has plenty or prove — same with Powers-Johnson — but unlike his younger teammate, there’s financial and long-term security are also on the line. As an exclusive rights free agent this offseason, Meredith had no choice but to sign the qualifying offer — a one-year, $1.03 million deal — and when this pact is done, he’s a restricted free agent next offseason. The Western Kentucky product is able to negotiate with other teams then, but the Raiders have “right of first refusal” and can match any offer sheet from other squads.
Yet, Meredith must showcase he’s worthy of a heftier contract in terms of length and money. For Powers-Johnson, if his eyes are indeed set on being a center for the Raiders, gaining and refining the ability to communicate is paramount.
Not Just On Offense
Effective communication is a trait that the Raiders want in all three phases of the game: Offense, defense, and special teams.
Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham spoke glowingly of free agent addition and safety Jeremy Chinn’s ability to talk to his fellow defensive backs noting, “… him being able to communicate what he’s seeing out there. Not keeping it a secret, helping his fellow players out there.” Graham wants his defense to be noisy pre-snap and physical post snap.
For Carroll, with comprehensive communication comes all-important confidence.
“We just need to keep doing it. And the conversation that they have back there gives the guy next to them
confidence that he right and he doesn’t have to be second thinking, am I right?,” Carroll explained. “Am I doing the right thing? What am I supposed to be doing here? That’s what the communication allows us to get to that confidence level so we can execute really well.”
Veteran linebacker Elandon Roberts — the oldest in the room at 31 years old and expected to be a starter — broke it down even further. Along with being more realistic about where Las Vegas is in terms of communication.
“But week to week, we have to be able to grow communication wise. And that’s even going to be all the way into the season. When you really want your communication at a height is in the fourth quarter of the season because by that point, you’ve seen it all, so you know from a backer, from a safety standpoint, ‘Hey, look, we’ve been getting a lot of this. Hey, teams have been attacking us this way, ‘because it’s a copycat league,” Roberts said. “So one team attacks you a certain way, and they have success, the other team’s going to do it. So then the next week, we need to heighten that communication from that standpoint.
“So that’s why I always say real football doesn’t really start until after Thanksgiving because that’s when you’ve seen it all, and you need to make sure your defense is on the height of the communication standpoint of it.”
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