Explaining 1 Questionable Raiders' Decision

The Las Vegas Raiders hope to enter their Week 4 matchup against the Chicago Bears with their offensive line at full strength.

Decisions, Decisions

The Raiders expect Jackson Powers-Johnson to return to the starting lineup this week for the first time since Week 1. When he returns, he will still be at guard and not center. The Raiders will keep Jordan Meredith at center.

On Thursday, Raiders Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly explained why the Raiders made that decision.

"Because Jordan [Meredith] did a better job in preseason camp at playing center for us in terms of what we want, call-wise, putting us in the right protections, doing all those things. I think Jordan is what you're looking for in a center in this league," Kelly said.

"He reminds me a little bit, I'm not going to say he is, but he reminds me a lot of Jason Kelce that I had when I was in Philly. He's got a long way to go. Jason's a Hall of Famer, but he's that type of player. We were really excited about what Jordan's doing at center."

Kelly and the Raiders coaching staff believe that the makeup of Powers-Johnson's body and his skill set make him a better guard in their offensive system. Although their reasoning is fair and makes sense, the Raiders' offense improved dramatically with Powers-Johnson at center last season.

It is also worth noting that Powers-Johnson has missed the past two games. So, the Raiders coaching staff has not had much time to see what the offensive line looks like with Powers-Johnson at guard. That makes it fair for the Raiders' coaching staff to keep him there for now.

"He's a bigger body, and I think that's one reason why he's a better guard. He's built more like a guard than he is like a center. Jordan's [Meredith] built a little bit more like a [Jason] Kelce, an athletic guy, pull, get out in space, all those other things.

"Jackson [Powers-Johnson] is a tough, hard-nose. There's a lot of big 3-techniques in this league, so to have a, 'How do you handle a guy at the 3-technique or having a bigger body at the guard spot' is what he is, and his toughness is always a positive to what we're doing." 

Regardless of what they decide, the Raiders must figure out their issues along the offensive line, or the rest of the season will follow a similar pattern to Weeks 1 and 2.