On Monday, Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter shared some of the details to why the Raiders have moved Jackson Powers-Johnson to right guard in the last two weeks.
“They want more out of [Powers-Johnson] and they keep talking about Jordan Meredith’s execution at center, and they love Jordan Meredith, and I think… they want him to be technically sound,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “Let’s just leave it there. And clearly that’s what they want. They think that he can be more technically sound.”
Carpenter didn’t get into the specifics of being more “technically sound” but in a Tuesday segment on the team’s flagship radio station, former Raiders’ offensive lineman Richie Incognito expanded on what Hondo was probably talking about.
According to Incognito, the center position is one of the most difficult positions to play from a mental standpoint, and Incognito admitted he struggled to play the position over the course of his NFL career.
“It comes down to the details,” Incognito said on Raider Nation Radio’s Morning Tailgate. “Because the [center] position is hard enough when you’re just running base offense and you’re going out there and you’re trying to set the table for the team. But when you’re going out there and you’re constantly changing situations and you’re changing first and 10, second and short, third and long, fourth and goal, these are all completely different scenarios and they all have their own rules.”
“So for JPJ to be successful at center, he’d have to really, really study. He’d have to really, really dig in and know the intricacies of the offense, know the little details… and I think that’s what Jordan really gives them. He spent all summer studying the center position and you’re seeing that hard work and those details show up.”
Incognito added that he loves JPJ’s physical abilities, but to play center, the team needs more consistency than what Powers-Johnson appears to be offering at the moment.
“Jackson is a really talented kid. He’s athletic, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s physical. And the one thing I’d like to see him get is that technique,” Incognito said.
“Going out there and running around and causing havoc is great. But you know, on third and long in the fourth quarter, when you got to have it, you got to have good technique. So I think right now with the competition, you know, they know what they have with Jordan at center. And it’s all about Jackson proving that he can play with good technique, snap after snap after snap after snap.”
For now, it feels like the Raiders are leaning towards Powers-Johnson at right guard, but the team website still lists Powers-Johnson and Alex Cappa as the starters.
Cappa has been injured, so it will be interesting to see how the coaching staff proceeds at right guard when both players are healthy.
x: @raidersbeat
The Raiders will find a way to alienate both players. I’m not sure how many people think Meredith is a better player than JPJ but I would be willing to bet not many. The Raiders make it a point to alienate their good players. Just ask Marcus Allen!!
What a dumb comment.
This is jst my opinion a Huge Mistake moving Meredith to the Center position he’s never played it before he looked horrible in the game against Seattle Jpj played it all last Year & Looked great doing it but it’s always something with my Team so I guess we’ll have to Wait & See..RN4L 💀☠️
Yep, I’m getting a bad feeling now about the Raiders after being so glad of the change in regime.
I think not drafting OL in first round was a big mistake. Jeanty is not going to have the room he needs to do much. We saw the Seattle game. There will be more of that. Bech has great hands, but….So first two picks were, in my opinion, Ill advised.