The Raiders have invested heavily in their offensive line in the last two drafts, and it will be interesting to see how their first-year and second-year offensive linemen respond in their first season with Klint Kubiak.
Throughout OTAs, the initial starters along the offensive line seemed to primarily be Kolton Miller, Spencer Burford, Tyler Linderbaum, Jackson Powers-Johnson and D.J. Glaze, but according to Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter, there are a pair of third-round picks emerging as strong candidates to earn a starting job.
“I thought Caleb Rogers looked exceptional today. He did not look good. He looked exceptional,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast on Thursday.
“No pads, but he made it very clear, ‘I’m Physical’ and sent some messages to the defense. Again, I told you all, it’s hard for me to imagine that we’re not going to see Caleb Rodgers, if not at the start of the year, I don’t think it’s going to be long until we’re going to see him in the starting lineup. That young man looked good. He had a great practice today. Trey Zuhn, same thing. Sooner rather than later. He looked exceptional today.”
Raiders looking for more from Powers-Johnson
Every indication has been that the Raiders’ coaching staff thinks a lot of D.J. Glaze and Spencer Burford, but could Powers-Johnson be a player on the bubble as a starter?
Earlier this week, Raiders insider Jesse Merrick talked about Powers-Johnson and said there are definitely people around the team who believe Powers-Johnson might be on “shaky ground” going into training camp.
“I just get the feeling that Burford could be in the guy there at left guard. To me, right guard is where it’s really interesting. And the real question there, JPJ has to prove that he can stay healthy and play clean football. We know that he’s had some issues with flags and things like that,” Merrick said on the Silver & Black Sports Network podcast.
“Everyone I talk to leads me to believe that JPJ is on shaky ground. I’m not fully there yet, but I’m starting to warm to that idea as much as I don’t want to. It honestly makes me think that the battle with him, third round pick Trey Zuhn and Caleb Rogers is very real and makes that all the more interesting as that pans out. Also too, don’t rule out Zuhn and maybe even Caleb [Rogers] competing at left guard as well. I think both of those guys have the versatility to play both guard spots.”
From a talent standpoint, Powers-Johnson has every physical trait required to be a dominating interior lineman.
In fact, there have been times in his two years with the Raiders where he has played at a Pro Bowl level.
But between injuries and an apparent lack of discipline, Powers-Johnson hasn’t been a fixture in the lineup since being drafted by the Raiders in 2024, and this is the second consecutive coaching staff that seems to have reservations about his role going forward.
To his credit, Powers-Johnson showed up to training camp last week with the rookies, so from a mental standpoint, it seems like he’s in the right mindset going into a year he’s guaranteed to have a couple of solid young players competing for his job.
x: @raidersbeat
You better have somebody exceptional the right guard if you’re going with glaze.