If you find seeing “or” on an NFL teams depth chart, don’t worry. You’re not the only one who found that intriguing.
But the mystery for the Las Vegas Raiders offensive line — specifically the right guard spot — was answered on Sunday. Head coach Pete Carroll said Jackson Powers-Johnson will start at that position in Week 1, concluding what had been a competition between the second-year Oregon product and veteran Humboldt State-alum Alex Cappa.
The question of Powers-Johnson or Cappa on the right side of the Silver & Black’s trenches is now moot.
How We Got Here
While Cappa — a veteran who heads into his eighth year in the NFL after coming into the league as a third-round pick of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — missed practices and Las Vegas second preseason tilt due to rib injury, Powers-Johnson gained even more ground on the competition by being ready and available. But as soon as Cappa returned to practice this week, the battle recommenced, and both Cappa and Powers-Johnson — the Raiders second-round pick of the 2024 draft — dabbled in first-team reps at the right guard spot.
“Well, we can’t do any more than his injury allows, so we’ve got to wait it out. We’ve got a couple good weeks here, and I know he’s feeling way better, but when he gets his chances, we know he’s going to have to make the most of them,” Raiders head coach Pete Carroll explained when asked about Cappa jumping back into the competition. “JPJ (Jackson Powers-Johnson) is getting more comfortable, he continues to be really physical at the spot and he’s a strong and powerful guy so he’s making progress. …But as soon as Alex is ready to go, he’ll be battling again and get jumped back in there.”
Thus, the “or” on the preseason depth chart provides refreshing transparency. It’s indeed an ongoing competition and the fight for not only the guard spot, but other positions on the Raiders roster. The “or” is also present for the backup running back spot behind Ashton Jeanty as the qualifier is between Zamir White, Raheem Mostert, and Chris Collier.
To hear Carroll tell it, there’s a method to his madness.
“Yeah, we’ve been battling. We’ve been battling. It’s every day,” Carroll noted when asked about how he feels regarding the level of competition for his football team. “They understand that they’re trying to make it hard on the guy across from them just about to the point, Lonnie Johnson said in one of our meetings, when we were talking about competing, he’s talking about, I’m trying to piss you off. I’m trying to make you pissed off at me.
“He’s talking about pushing so hard that it’s uncomfortable for the guys across from and then you got to deal with it. And how do you respond? Do you go throw a punch, or do you kick somebody or hit somebody? Or do you take it to heart, and you take it as the challenge. We’re trying to push it to the edge and everything we’re doing. And so I feel really good about the level of competition.”
No Longer Center of Attention
While competition is going to put forth the best option to start and depth chart transparency is a welcome sight, as for the specific reason why Powers-Johnson shifted from center to right guard, there’s been pieces to answer that question. But it’s perfectly acceptable to query the why.
“Jordan (Meredith) is really holding on to his spot, I really like him playing there for us,” Carroll said of the center position. “I think it just helps everybody and that’s a real positive aspect if your front cover and your center can really communicate, be consistent and be on point all the time.”
Starting left guard Dylan Parham, who dropped quite the dime when saying “a new starting center” during his media availability after training camp session, gave us good insight on why Meredith is the man at the pivot for the Raiders and not Powers-Johnson.
“First of all, Jordan has been my guy since I first got here. So, I’ve just been able to see his growth since my rookie year. I’m excited for him to get opportunity to come out here and play and represent the Raiders. 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.”
Which brings us back to now over battle for right guard.
It was a competition between a 22 year old who enters his second year in the league as an ascending player after starting 14 games for the Raiders in 2024 (15 total games) and a 30-year-old veteran who is looking for a career rebound after starting 96 career gamers (102 total games) including playing in and starting all 17 games for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023 and 2024.
While Powers-Johnson angled and fought for the starting center role last season and into the offseason before being shuttle back to guard, Raiders stalwart left tackle Kolton Miller is a big believer in the Oregon product.
“Regardless if it’s center or guard, physicality, emotion, a finish — a finish to him. He’s so dynamic, being able to do both — having a lot of the guys be able to do both is big,” Miller said of Powers-Johnson. So, wherever he’s placed, he makes an impact, a big impact. So, it’s been awesome to see for all the guys. So yeah, wherever he’s placed, watch out.”
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