Raiders' center could be on a path to greatness

Las Vegas Raiders guard Jackson Powers-Johnson (58) attends an NFL minicamp practice at Raiders headquarters in Henderson, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Photo by: Wade Vandervort

Maxx Crosby was wrecking one period of the Raiders’ practice during the recently concluded mandatory minicamp, blowing past offensive linemen to supply pressure and intercepting a screen pass from quarterback Geno Smith that he returned for a touchdown.

Only one member of the Raiders’ offense proved willing to stand up to Crosby’s ensuing trash talk—center Jackson Powers-Johnson. The 328-pound, second-year player out of Oregon shoved Crosby and sparked a typical practice skirmish between the offense and defense.

The coaches broke up the conflict quickly and there wasn’t much to it, aside from the fact that Powers-Johnson was the player who felt compelled to bark back at the face of the Raiders’ franchise.

“He loves to be jacked up and fired up,” coach Pete Carroll said of Powers-Johnson. “He’s got that kind of energy about him. It’s in his makeup. It’s nothing we gave him. He brings that to us. When we have guys like that, we play off of them.”

In just a year, the 2024 second-round pick has already become a favorite among the fan base and his teammates. He’s been among the most visible members of the silver and black in the community after moving to Las Vegas during the offseason.

Powers-Johnson has done everything from auctioning off a marquee experience at the Silver & Black Gala at Allegiant Stadium (a road trip with the team next season) to debuting his own custom-made “Big Jax Burger” at local spot Bar Code Burgers.

If the 22-year-old can make the sophomore-season leap Carroll says he expects, Powers-Johnson could be the rare interior offensive linemen to reach for NFL stardom.

“I’ve hammered down a routine,” Powers-Johnson said. “I’ve lost 10 to 15 pounds—faster, stronger, you get a lot better at technique ... so I think I’m going to make a great jump and give it the best I’ve got and have some fun with it.”

Powers-Johnson first endeared himself with an aggressive mindset as a rookie, once memorably declaring his favorite part of football is, “running off the ball killing people.” His play gave even more reason for excitement as the year stretched on.

He ranked in the top 41% of offensive lineman by Pro Football Focus’ grading metrics including the top 22% in run blocking. Those are extremely encouraging rates for a rookie, especially one who was mostly playing out of position.

Powers-Johnson logged 114 more snaps at guard than center. The Raiders ceded the center job to former franchise staple Andre James until he went down with an injury midway through the season. Former coach Antonio Pierce had a different offensive lineman warm up to replace James, which made Powers-Johnson furious, as he recalled on a recent episode of Crosby’s podcast The Rush.

“I’m like, ‘f**k this,’” Powers-Johnson said on the podcast. “So I went up to AP and I was like, ‘Coach, respectfully, I’m going to play f**king center.’ I won the Rimington (Trophy, for the best center in college football). I can do this and I don’t care what you say.”

Pierce relented, and Powers-Johnson spent most of the rest of the season at center. The offensive line was still mediocre, but it improved with Powers-Johnson manning the middle.

Las Vegas averaged an NFL-worst 3.6 yards per carry last year, and it’s not all on rookie phenom Ashton Jeanty and free-agent signed speedster Raheem Mostert to turn it around in 2025. Led by Powers-Johnson and longtime franchise left tackle Kolton Miller, the offensive line is putting the responsibility on its own shoulders.

“You’ve got to run the ball to be able to win the game, and that’s been impressed on us every single day,” Powers-Johnson said. “And I think we’re taking a lot of pride in that, like we’ve seen the stats of the worst rushing team in the NFL. I see it as an opportunity to get those numbers up.”

This story originally appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.