It was an up-and-down rookie season for Las Vegas Raiders second-rounder Jackson Powers-Johnson this past year, to say the least.
Spending the first half of his ’24 campaign at guard, Powers-Johnson struggled to be effective. From Weeks 3-8, the Oregon alum allowed 10 pressures – the 10th-most among all guards league-wide in this timespan – with one sack, earning a grade south of 60.0 as both a run- and pass-blocker via Pro Football Focus.
However, everything changed for Powers-Johnson once he switched to his natural center position in Week 9.
Now manning the middle of Sin City’s offensive line, the 22-year-old finished his season allowing nine pressures and one sack through his final eight contests. For his efforts, he was given a grade of 74-plus both as a run- and pass-blocker; a complete turnaround.
Now, Powers-Johnson is getting ready for Year 2 in the NFL, hoping to pick right up where he left off. But first, he joined Eddie Paskal to recap his first year in the National Football League.
Las Vegas Raiders OL Jackson Powers-Johnson recaps Year 1 in the NFL
It’s always good when you land good players in the annual NFL draft. It’s even better when you land good players who have genuine love for the team that drafted them. The Las Vegas Raiders checked both of those boxes with the addition of Jackson Powers-Johnson through the 2024 NFL Draft.
“There were a lot of great moments [in Year 1]. I know we didn’t have the greatest season, but those couple games we went back-to-back just kind of shows the resilience of the team. The resilience of the guys, and how it’s going to throw us into this year,” Powers-Johnson told Paskal.
But how does one jump head-first into the fires of the NFL, getting quickly acclimated with an entirely new beast on the fly as a rookie in a reasonable manner? That was Paskal’s question. Powers-Johnson had an answer for that.
“I think it really starts with a great support system. Everybody was so great about having the rookies really transition into the NFL, and just getting after it and throwing us into the fire, that once we got in-season it was easier than the offseason.
“I think I really just had such a great support system, off the field with my parents and my fiancé, and the people in the building did such a great job to really help the transition.”
Expect that to continue with Pete Carroll now at the helm, who’s, quite frankly, the epitome of a player’s coach. Hopefully it all translates into wins this upcoming season.
*Top Photo: Getty Images
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