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Maxx Crosby is teaching Jackson Powers-Johnson what most second-year players don't know yet

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Justin Churchill | Last updated Jun 7, 2025 6:22 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders are starting to have a great culture in place with this new regime. It's something we have harped on a ton, but it's that important, especially when you think about how bad the culture has been with the last two regimes.

Pete Carroll has a system in place, and the players are bought in, and it has worked in the past. It's how he won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks against the Denver Broncos, and how he had a team good enough to go to another Super Bowl, but unfortunately, lost to the New England Patriots.

Of course, in Carroll's case, it helps to establish a new culture in the building when you have guys like Maxx Crosby, who is by all definitions of what it means to be a Raider. He is the culture, and he is the leader. In all honesty, he is the franchise. So, yes, the culture building is coming easily because he is a leader, and he's always been like that.

But this offseason, he started teaching one of the younger guys on the team how to be a leader, and it's not really something you see a lot in the NFL.

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"I think it starts with doing everything right all the time. I've had a lot of great mentorships in that. I’ve been with Maxx [Crosby] all offseason and seeing how he handles things and trying to manage that as much as possible," Jackson Powers-Johnson said at OTAs earlier this week.

"I also got vets in the room with Alex Cappa and Kolton Miller, so seeing how they lead, seeing how they go, and just trying to replicate that. And then going into my second year, trying to find my place and where that is, but just being myself. I mean, one thing is I'm not going to change who I am. I’m going to have fun, I'm going to be running around, screaming, yelling, and hollering. So, leading by play and leading by energy and love for the game.”

When you have guys like JPJ, who are in their second season, wanting to learn how to be a leader, it shows you that you have some of the right guys in the building around him and that bringing him in was the right choice, even if that decision was made by the previous regime. JPJ even showed some leadership qualities last season as a rookie.

But, he also showed some instances where it was very clear that he was a young guy on the team, like the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs when the botched snap happened. That's not the way a leader acts, and he even acknowledged that. It will be interesting to see how he is in his second year, having gone through a season in the league and having spent an offseason with some of the guys who do it the best.

And you better believe that his play will only help him become a leader, too. JPJ has elite potential, and that alone garners the respect of his peers.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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