What Surprised Raiders Coach Cregg About Rookie G Powers-Johnson

The Las Vegas Raiders drafted guard Jackson Powers-Johnson in the second round of the 2024 nFL Draft.

Mar 3, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oregon offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson (OL58) during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Las Vegas Raiders hit the jackpot with rookie guard Jackson Powers-Johnson, who was the best center in all of college football last season.

Johnson, the Raiders' second-round pick, was one of the top offensive lineman in the draft, and fortunately for Las Vegas, he fell beyond the first round.

While the Raiders knew what they would be getting with the former Oregon center, there was one component of Powers-Johnson's game this offseason that Raiders offensive line coach James Cregg had not expected.

"He was making some progress early on," Cregg said last week. "We had him at rookie minicamp, we grinding him out in there. We obviously have him at guard and he played center in college. He's actually a really good pass protector. I was really surprised with that. I'm upset at the fact that we couldn't really work with him. He's been hurt, he's been dealing with some kind of issue with his shoulder, but he's out there now.

"But I wish we could have spent more time with him, but we'll catch up during training camp. But he's
a really, really bright kid, understands it, catches on quickly, knows when you ask him to do something he understands it, it's not going to confuse him at all. And we've just got to really get him in the process of doing our offense. Our offense takes a lot of reps to master as far as technique goes."

While Powers-Johnson is new to the NFL, everyone in the offensive line room is growing accustomed to Cregg's style, as he joined the club this offseason.

"As far as their learning curve, like we're throwing a bunch of stuff at them, and I think like
we talked about earlier, they're sharp, they understand it, they get it and there's not really a lot of
questions about the scheme and what we're doing," Cregg said. "They're learning curve is very high here, and that's what I've been amazed with, how they're grasping it and they're doing it and there's not a lot of mistakes."

Cregg has eight years of coaching experience at the NFL level, including two seasons in which he served as the Raiders' assistant offensive line coach.

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