Silver And Black Pride
A pivot at the pivot.
Trying saying that 10 times fast.
While it was assumed second-year offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson would assume the mantle as the center on the Las Vegas Raiders offensive line, head coach Pete Carroll and his coaching staff decided otherwise. Through offseason competition, which some viewed as fugazi, Jordan Meredith is the man in the middle while Powers-Johnson shifts over to right guard.
Rimington Trophy, be damned!, apparently. (The Dave Rimington Trophy is bestowed upon the best center in all of college football which Powers-Johnson won in his final season with the Oregon Ducks.)
But just because a prospect wins a coveted collegiate honor, it doesn’t necessarily mean that translates to the pros. Powers-Johnson — taken with the 44th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft — is one example of this. So is teammate and safety Trey Taylor, who won the Jim Thorpe Award (given to the best collegiate defensive back) in 2023, and was waived during initial cut down to the 53-man roster and is now on Las Vegas’ practice squad.
Perhaps we should’ve seen the shift up front a lot earlier than when it became clear Meredith, a 27-year-old undrafted free agent, supplanted the 22-year-old Powers-Johnson at the pivot. Since his arrival, Carroll has consistently preached communication being vital for his Raiders. And that’s apparently the biggest difference between Meredith and Powers-Johnson.
“He’s a good player, and he communicates, and he plays hard, man. He’s a good athlete, really strong. And we’re always talking too,” Raiders veteran guard Alex Cappa, who had been at right guard next to Meredith before Powers-Johnson took the reins at the position, said of the Raiders new center. “We come off to the sideline and we’re talking about the previous play. And I like the guys that are engaged like that, that you can really discuss and make sure you are seeing things the same way.”
Cappa, who is now a reserve lineman, said that in late July. And two weeks later, left guard Dylan Parham reiterated Meredith’s ability to bark out the adjustments and get his fellow lineman all on the same page as the standout item.
“He’s a great communicator, man. So, I mean, he communicates, he tells you exactly what you need to do. He makes it very simplistic for everybody else on the offense line to get to where we need to go,” Parham explained. “So that’s something that you want to look for in a center. Just understanding the defense, understanding what it is that we’re trying to do as offense, and then being able to play fast. He’s done a great job of it so far.”
Meredith himself had a hilarious take on his ability to talk to his fellow linemen and be a conduit of communication in the all-important trenches.
“Yeah, I was told the quarterback’s the president and the center is the vice president,” Meredith noted. “I think there is a lot of communication involved. Anytime that you...
