If a list were made of players who are glad the Las Vegas Raiders have a new coaching staff, Jackson Powers-Johnson would be high on it. Actually, he'd probably be No. 1 after Pete Carroll and his underqualified offensive line coach son put him on whatever the opposite of a pedestal is last year.
Making a player earn a starting job is one thing, but Powers-Johnson expressed confusion about his situation, suggesting he was not getting any feedback from coaches about what he needed to do in order to not be singled out like he was.
If there was a personality conflict between Powers-Johnson and one or both of the Carrolls, so be it. But that shouldn't, and cannot, be a driving factor in how a player is handled when it comes to playing time and/or having to compete with a clearly inferior player.
The best players should play if they are healthy, with no further questions asked. And between Powers-Johnson starting this year and what he's saying before the 2026 NFL season, it's clear that this offseason has made all the difference for the Raiders' offensive line.
Jackson Powers-Johnson has said it all about the difference a year makes
Powers-Johnson will be the Raiders' right guard in Week 1, and presumably until further notice. Head coach Klint Kubiak continually makes it clear that Caleb Rogers isn't being forgotten after a closely contested training camp battle, so Powers-Johnson will have to perform well to keep the job.
Again, making someone earn a starting job, then perform well in order to keep it, is all well and good. That standard should be maintained across the Raiders' roster, with no legitimate exceptions, and Kubiak has brought that to Las Vegas.
Speaking to reporters in the locker room heading toward the season opener against the Miami Dolphins, Powers-Johnson was asked about the biggest improvement the Raiders' offensive line made this offseason.
"I think technique, and just having more cohesion and just being all on the same page."
When asked about the culture being different in Las Vegas, Powers-Johnson had another revealing response.
"I think we just come here every day trying to get better, and the main focus is football. It's not anything else, it's not all the other things. All it is is getting better at football and being the most connected team."
Throughout last offseason, from OTAs all the way to training camp, multiple Raiders interior offensive linemen were tried at different positions. On one level, that's fine if it's in an effort to find the best combination.
But when you're moving someone to a position they've never played (Jordan Meredith), or away from their best position (Dylan Parham), you're asking for a disaster. As we know, disaster is what occurred, as Geno Smith was sacked 55 times (tied for most in the NFL) and Ashton Jeanty couldn't find holes.
Rick Dennison is one of the best offensive line coaches around, so he has surely already undone a lot of what Brennan Carroll did wrong when it comes to teaching good technique. He's also got the unit playing more as one, which was evident in the preseason.
Beneath that, it's safe to assume players are being told exactly where they stand, good or bad, and the random experimenting when it comes to position moves has been put to bed. Kubiak has made it clear to the public, so it has to be glaring to those in the building.
Powers-Johnson is the torchbearer for the difference a year is making for the Raiders' offensive line. In a brief, fairly innocuous soundbite, he summed things up perfectly.
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