The Las Vegas Raiders have done some unexpected shuffling on the interior of the offensive line at training camp with Jordan Meredith and Jackson Powers-Johnson. One Raiders beat writer has a possible explanation.
All offseason long, offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson was expected to be the Las Vegas Raiders' starting center in his second season.
The expectation made sense considering JPJ was a center in college and was solid at the position in his rookie campaign that first saw him play left guard before a switch to center and then a return to left guard to close out the season.
In all, Powers-Johnson posted a Pro Football Focus run-blocking grade of 70.4 and a pass-blocking grade of 68.3 while giving up just two sacks and 23 total pressures over 633 pass-blocking snaps.
However, despite all that, fellow offensive lineman Jordan Meredith has been rotating with Powers-Johnson at center in practice. And, on Thursday, Powers-Johnson played at right guard and Meredith was at center, according to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
That setup left veteran Alex Cappa on the outside looking in when it comes to the starting offensive line after he was considered the favorite for a guard spot.
Bonsignore has a possible explanation for why the Raiders are taking a look at a pairing of JPJ and Meredith at guard and center.
"I think it's more that they feel Jordan (Meredith) profiles better at center than guard and that JPJ can be a pro bowl level player at either spot," he wrote.
Meredith made eight starts in 2024, playing at both guard spots. He was a pleasant surprise for Las Vegas, posting strong Pro Football Focus grades of 75.7 in pass-blocking and 78.4 in run-blocking. Meredith didn't give up a single sack and surrendered just nine pressures in 399 pass-blocking snaps.
That said, Meredith has played zero regular-season snaps at the position during his three-year career, so center is certainly new to him.
Cappa, who once looked like he'd earn a starting role earlier this offseason, was signed to a two-year, $11.01 million deal in free agency.
The signing was a bit odd at the time given the fact that he wasn't really an upgrade over anyone the Raiders had vying for a starting guard role. Cappa is coming off a terrible season that saw him give up eight sacks and 51 total pressures while also garnering PFF grades of 39.7 in pass-blocking and 54.9 in run-blocking.
If the JPJ-Meredith combo from Thursday's practice holds, the Raiders' starting offensive line from left to right tackle would be Kolton Miller, Dylan Parham, Meredith, JPJ and DJ Glaze.
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Category: Football
