Adam Butler made headlines on Tuesday when he shared his thoughts on the Christian Wilkins situation, but from a football standpoint, Butler’s biggest statement of the day had nothing to do with Raiders’ newly departed defensive star.
Butler was asked at the end of his press conference on Tuesday for his “perspective” on the offensive line. His response was pointed and calculated, as is often the case with Butler, who has grown to become one of the leaders of the Raiders’ locker room.
“I’m excited about Jordan Meredith,” Butler said.
“I’m excited about JPJ for sure. I’m a real big fan of JPJ. That’s my guy. Strong, young player. He’s got that energy. I see him as an All-Pro guard at some point. I don’t know if that’s now or later. I’m really excited about him and if it’s ok with you, that’s all I’d like to comment on that at this time.”
It was notable that Butler only mentioned two players on the offensive, and it’s fair to wonder why he didn’t name anyone else. Based on the way he finished his statement, the decision wasn’t an oversight or mistake.
All we can do is speculate on what Butler was trying to say, and the initial conclusion might be that hasn’t been overly impressed with the rest of the offensive line.
But the fact that Butler specifically mentioned Meredith and referred to Jackson Powers-Johnson as an “All-Pro guard” is no small detail and probably wasn’t a slip of the tongue.
One of the notable position battles at Raiders training camp has been at the center position, and that dynamic came as a little bit of a surprise since Powers-Johnson has been the presumed starter (on the outside at least) for a while.
Maybe the Raiders’ coaching staff hasn’t been seeing it that way.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Adam Hill brought up an interesting observation this week on the position battle between Powers-Johnson and Meredith, and his comments might have something to do with what Butler was referring to at the podium on Tuesday.
“I’m still a little bit skeptical that it’s a real competition,” Hill said on the Vegas Nation podcast. “I still see Jackson Powers-Johnson as a starting center… and I think if it was a real competition, you would see Jackson Powers-Johnson maybe playing more guard or at least getting more reps in at guard.”
“I think if Jordan Meredith were to, in fact, win the starting center job… then Jackson Powers-Johnson would probably be best served by moving back to guard… If they really thought [Meredith] could win the job, I feel like they’d move JPJ over and have him play in some guard, at least out on the field to see if that would work. Unless they think he’s good enough a guard that he doesn’t need the reps, which I don’t think that’s probably the case.”
As of Wednesday evening, Powers-Johnson had not been taking reps at guard, according to media reports.
If Powers-Johnson ends up being the starting center, what would that mean for Meredith?
Meredith is missing potential first-team reps at guard to his current position battle at center, and it’s fair to wonder if Meredith would be relegated to the bench if he doesn’t win the starting job at center.
Listening to Butler’s comments, it sounds like he wants Meredith and Powers-Johnson on the field together, and that’s not something that’s been happening over the course of the first week of training camp.
There are other possible explanations for Butler’s comments, but at minimum, it sounds like the veteran defensive tackle thinks Meredith belongs in the starting lineup – and obviously Powers-Johnson, too.
And right on cue, look at this report from training camp on Thursday morning…
x: @raidersbeat