Jackson Powers-Johnson, C Oregon: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Powers-Johnson was a four-star recruit from Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah in the class of 2021

Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson is the top center in the 2024 NFL Draft. He could go as high as the second round considering the questions that surround other centers in the class. It would be surprising if Powers-Johnson fell outside of the top 100 picks.

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Jackson Powers-Johnson, C Oregon: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior center from Draper, Utah

Background: Powers-Johnson was a four-star recruit from Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah in the class of 2021. He was the No. 197 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 198 for On3.com. Powers-Johnson was an unranked four-star recruit for Rivals. ESPN ranked him 187th in the nation with an 83 grade out of 100. Powers-Johnson lettered four years and was a team captain three times. He earned First Team All-State honors twice and was a First Team All-6A Region 4 selection three times and a Second Team All-6A Region 4 selection once. Corner Canyon went 51-1 and won three state championships during his time with the team, including titles in the 6A and 5A state championships. Powers-Johnson played on both sides of the ball, amassing 124 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, two interceptions, eight passes defensed, and a forced fumble during his high school career. As a senior, he produced 42 tackles, nine tackles for loss, half a sack, and four passes defensed. Powers-Johnson totaled 49 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, an interception, and two passes defensed as a junior. His sophomore campaign included 23 tackles, three tackles for loss, half a sack, an interception, two passes defensed, and a forced fumble, and he produced ten tackles, two tackles for loss, and two sacks as a freshman. Powers-Johnson received invitations to the 2021 Under Armour All-American Game and the 2021 Polynesian Bowl. He also lettered three times in baseball and wrestling.

Injuries & Off-Field: Exited 2021 UCLA game with an ankle sprain that caused him to miss time, did not play in 2022 Georgia game, played through a left leg injury vs. USC (2023)

Awards: 2023 First Team All-Pac-12, 2023 First Team All-American (Associated Press)

Pros: Significant experience at right guard and center, age, thick upper frame, motor runs hot, wants to maul and pancake defenders, coaches will love his mentality, powerful hands and extensions, quick and heavy hands, hands attack and neutralize the defender’s hands, powerful grip strength, frames blocks well, strong core to torque defenders out of gaps, plays with a wide base to absorb power, creates positive vertical displacement in the run game, excellent mobility, executes reach blocks, generates movement on down blocks, effective on combo blocks, finisher mentality, mobility to execute pulls, pulls for screen plays, stays attached to blocks on the move, generates significant lateral movement, comfortable climbing to the second level, overpowers and clears out second-level defenders

Cons: Committed nine penalties in 2023, still getting his feet wet as a center, lower frame appears lean, high-hipped, some hip stiffness, lacks elite agility and suddenness, limited arm length, arm length hinders ability to sustain run blocks, instances of standing straight up after the snap, pad level gets high, pushed backward when his base isn’t set, should anchor lower in stance, hand placement can be too high on double teams, awareness could use work, late to redirect for blitzing linebackers, late to diagnose stunts, some concerns about facing large nose tackles in the run game

Overview: Powers-Johnson has significant experience at right guard and center. He’s a young prospect with only one year of full-time starting experience under his belt. Powers-Johnson has a thick upper frame atop a somewhat lean lower half. He’s high-hipped, which leads to some stiffness. The junior’s motor and mentality immediately jump off the tape. Powers-Johnson plays through the whistle and wants to put defenders on their butts. Coaches will love the mentality he attacks every play with. He has quick and heavy hands that land powerful blows to stun defenders. Powers-Johnson uses hand counters to neutralize the defensive lineman’s pass rush plan. He also has impressive grip strength that helps him frame blocks. The Utah native uses his strong core and upper body to torque defenders out of gaps and create rushing lanes or re-establish the pocket for his quarterback. Powers-Johnson plays with a wide base to absorb and negate power rushes. He generates vertical displacement, but his mobility is what really sticks out about his performance in the run game. The former four-star recruit has excellent mobility to execute reach blocks, climb on combo blocks, find targets on long pulls, get out ahead of screens, and stay attached to blocks on the move laterally. He is completely comfortable climbing to the second level to clear out linebackers or low-hanging defensive backs. Powers-Johnson generates significant lateral movement on down blocks. Unfortunately, he lacks elite agility and suddenness and suffers from limited arm length, which impacts his ability to sustain blocks in the run game. His pad level gets too high as he often stands straight up after the snap. There are several instances of Powers-Johnson getting caught and pushed back when his base isn’t set. He should try to anchor lower in his stance. Powers-Johnson’s hand placement can be too high when joining a guard on double teams. This can probably be explained by his lack of experience, but his awareness in pass protection needs work as he is sometimes late to diagnose stunts or redirect for blitzing linebackers. With his size and build, it’s unclear how Powers-Johnson will handle facing some of the NFL’s larger nose tackles in the run game.

Overall, Powers-Johnson is a versatile center with the mobility and power in his core and upper body to fit most schemes. His motor and playstyle will have plenty of fans in the pre-draft process. More experience and NFL coaching will iron out most of Powers-Johnson’s significant warts as a draft prospect.

Role & Scheme Fit: Scheme versatile center

Round Projection: Third Round

Size: 6'3", 320 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 12-30-23