The Las Vegas Raiders surprisingly had an offensive line that ranked 10th overall, according to PFF last season. Their starting left guard, Dylan Parham, struggled, and the Raiders had to rely on 33-year-old Greg Van Roten, who played well at right guard. However, Van Roten did not re-sign with the team and remains unsigned.
The Raiders moved Parham from LG to RG this offseason and drafted an interior offensive lineman on Day 2.
The Las Vegas Raiders drafted an interior offensive lineman in the 2nd round
The Raiders drafted Jackson Powers-Johnson in the 2nd round, 44th overall of the 2024 NFL Draft. Powers-Johnson played three seasons of college football for the Oregon Ducks and has experience at all three interior positions, with 27 snaps at LG, 893 at C, and 430 at RG. He started one game in 2022 at right guard and 13 at center in 2023. They drafted him, intending to play him at left guard.
JPJ has dealt with a shoulder injury for the past few months that caused him to miss part of OTAs but played in a limited fashion during mandatory minicamp. The injury isn’t serious. Tashan Reed of The Athletic gave an encouraging injury update during minicamp on June 12.
Jackson Powers-Johnson received an encouraging injury update
“Rookie left guard Jackson Powers-Johnson missed a chunk of time during OTAs because of a shoulder injury, but he’s been able to participate in rookie minicamp and mandatory minicamp,” Reed said.
The Raiders expect JPJ to be fully healthy for training camp.
Who received first-team reps at left guard?
Cody Whitehair took over for Jackson Powers-Johnson at LG, receiving first-team reps throughout OTAs and minicamp. Whitehair enters his ninth year in the league and has started 118 out of 124 regular season games. He has experience playing LG and C and reunited with former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.
If Powers-Johnson struggles throughout training camp or gets injured, Whitehair will likely take over as the starting left guard. If he stays healthy and plays well, JPJ will start this season.
UPDATE: JPJ isn’t quite ready for training camp. The Raiders placed him on the active/PUP list to start camp.
