Raiders Host Says He Hasn’t Received Pushback from “Hot Take” Powers-Johnson Prediction

Jackson Powers-Johnson Battling for a Starting Job Once Again

The Raiders may have used a second-round pick on Jackson Powers-Johnson in 2024, but the third-year interior lineman hasn’t been handed a lot in his two years in the NFL.

Last year, the coaching staff in Las Vegas never seemed to be comfortable with Powers-Johnson, and this year seems to be trending in a similar direction.

It’s only the second week of June, but Powers-Johnson is already being talked about like he could end up in another backup role, and former Raiders wide receiver Ryan Hoag implied this week that ‘JPJ’ might not have a personality that meshes with the current coaching staff – and presumably last year’s, too.

“I will say that just the relationship, it seems like Jackson Powers-Johnson has with the coaching staff, just from my observation of one practice, it seems a little unsettled,” Hoag said on the Silver & Black Sports Podcast.

“I don’t know if it’s because Jackson’s always like the rah-rah hype guy, you know, I’m first to do a radio interview or whatever, but it just seems like that type of like mentality with the team, at least this coaching staff, is just like, ‘No, we’re not going for that.’”

Hoag also said he doesn’t think Powers-Johnson is going to start a single game for the Raiders this year and that’s a strong statement considering the level of talent JPJ is known to possess.

Sanjit T. on X (formerly Twitter): “This is a really interesting opinion by former #Raiders WR Ryan Hoag on Jackson Powers-Johnson. I watched the entire podcast & he implies that JPJ personality might not be liked by the coaching staff & JPJ will end up being Guard 4 on the depth chart.pic.twitter.com/mId7dm93dD / X”

This is a really interesting opinion by former #Raiders WR Ryan Hoag on Jackson Powers-Johnson. I watched the entire podcast & he implies that JPJ personality might not be liked by the coaching staff & JPJ will end up being Guard 4 on the depth chart.pic.twitter.com/mId7dm93dD

Host Says He Hasn’t Received a Lot of Pushback on Hoag’s Statement

Hoag’s comments on Powers-Johnson potentially not starting in 2026 came in a separate conversation with Raiders beat writer Jesse Merrick, and Merrick made an interesting comment on his latest podcast about the feedback he has gotten on Hoag’s hot take.

“He said that he doesn’t believe Jackson Powers-Johnson will start a single game for this team,” Merrick said of Hoag’s prediction.

“That’s a hot take in every sense of the word. That is a Hoag hot take. Not one that I think is true, but it is not out of the realm of possibility. I’ve talked to plenty of folks since Ryan said that, and I haven’t gotten a lot of pushback. Maybe not to the sense of not a single game, but I haven’t gotten a ton of pushback from folks when it’s talked about,” Merrick continued.

“Maybe he’s just not being that guy. That’s kind of what I’m getting at here. Again, I like him. I like what he brings to the table. We’ll see what the staff thinks of him. We got a long runway to get there, but I’m just saying it’s not that wild of a take given the conversations I’ve had with people.”

There is still a lot of time to change the narrative on Powers-Johnson, but it’s hard not to feel like this year is trending in a similar direction as last year for Powers-Johnson.

And that’s a disappointment considering the high hopes everyone has for Powers-Johnson.

x: @raidersbeat

Are the Raiders Finally Getting It Right?

Sign up for PrizePicks with code: HMA and get $50 in lineups instantly when you play your first $5+ lineup! https://link.prizepicks.com/LME0/SILVER For the first time in a long time, there’s real optimism surrounding the Raiders.