Through his first six NFL games, Las Vegas Raiders rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson showed flashes of brilliance but lacked consistency from start to finish. However, after moving to his more natural center position in Week 9 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Powers-Johnson made a resounding statement by putting together his best performance yet.

The Oregon product received an elite grade of 90.6 from Pro Football Focus, the highest grade of any center last week and third-best among offensive linemen regardless of position. He was dominant as a run blocker, posting a 91.7 grade in that department — best among centers and second-best overall — and didn’t let himself be pressured in pass protection.

JPJ’s performance was so impressive that he could take over as the Raiders’ starting center, so let’s dive into the tape and take a look.

The Raiders call the interior zone to the weak side of the formation where the Cody Whitehair and Powers-Johnson combination blocks the 2i-technique defensive tackle (No. 93) all the way to the WILL linebacker (No. 55). Those two get a good initial push and when Whitehair releases to the second level, Powers-Johnson keeps his feet moving through contact to extend the defensive tackle to the opposite hash mark.

That, combined with a great block from Jordan Meredith, creates a cutback lane in the back for Alexander Mattison to pick up a big gain on the ground. As a side note, Meredith also had a strong performance on Sunday, which is also highlighted in the following clip…

The outcome of this game isn’t as pretty as the last one since Kolton Miller got punched in the face, but the double team of Powers-Johnson and Meredith is about as good as it gets. These two not only send the defensive tackle out of the weak side A-gap, but they also push the defensive tackle into the linebacker.

How about another excellent doubles team of Powers-Johnson and Meredith for good measure?

This time the Raiders pair up and again the center and right guard manage to push the defensive tackle into the second level, erasing a linebacker from the play. The offense may have had something special with those two in the trenches, as they both played very well in Cincinnati.

Powers-Johnson and Meredith team up again on this mid-zone call from the Raiders. The difference is that they block the 2i technique defensive tackle (No. 93), where the guard’s job is to help the center reach the defender’s outside shoulder so that the center can pin the defender inside and can create a rushing lane in the B. -hole.

This is pretty much class material from JPJ as he initially uses a bucket step to get on track and move laterally, is physical at the point of attack and comes forward with his hands/punch to block the defensive tackle to support. To finish, he turns his hips and with some help from Meredith, lays the defensive tackle on the ground and effectively reaches the tackle to create that rushing lane.

Las Vegas uses a wham or trap concept here with DJ Glaze (right tackle) leaving the backside defensive end blocked and Brock Bowers working through the formation to take care of the end.

Meanwhile, JPJ has a downblock on a 1-technique nose tackle. He does get up at the point of attack and has wide hand placement initially, but he maintains a strong base and recovers well by putting his left hand on the front of the defender’s shoulder.

This allows him to maintain control of the block and then the rookie’s power takes over as he eventually pushes the nose into the other hashmark and creates a rushing lane for Zamir White to score.

Moving into pass protection, one area where the rookie made a big impact was the Raiders’ stunt pickups.

The Bengals give a tricky pre-snap look by putting four defenders on one side of the offensive line.

That forces the Raiders to use a four-man slide guard, isolating Trey Hendrickson from Thayer Munford Jr. to get a one-on-one matchup for their best pass rusher against a backup left tackle. With the protection plan, each offensive lineman (except Munford) is responsible for the gap on his right side, while the running back slots into the left B gap between the left guard and the tackle.

After the snap, Cincy runs a three-man line play, with the nose tackle working over the center’s face and the two stand-up linebackers walking inside to find a pass-rush lane. So there’s a lot going on here, but Powers-Johnson does a great job of using his left hand to feel the nose tackle while keeping his eyes on his hole to watch the linebackers move in.

This allows him to recognize the line play and push the nose tackle wide to keep the nose tackle away from the quarterback.

If we break this game down a little further, Whitehair should pick up #55, as 55 goes into his hole. However, he follows number 57 and Ameer Abdullah does well to correct Whitehair by picking up 55.

Here the Bengals run a much simpler or more traditional game with four down linemen and no-line games. Since the center is exposed before the snap and rotates to the right after the snap, it is responsible for the right A gap.

The 3-technique tries to beat Meredith with an inside pass-rush move, but Powers-Johsnon is there waiting for the defender. JPJ has a good pad level and keeps his hands tight, effectively blocking the inside movement of the defensive tackle.

After contact, Powers-Johnson locks down the defensive tackle and uses his right arm to knock the defender’s hand off his chest. That ends the rep, as the inside of the bag is perfectly maintained. Admittedly, the outside is a different story…

Our final clip builds on the previous one as it is another example of excellent hand use by Powers-Johnson.

This time he turns left and towards the side of the 2i technique. Initially he loses ground against the bull rush. However, he recovers well by hand-fighting the defensive tackle, using his hands to get the defensive tackle’s hands off his chest. That helps slow the defender’s momentum and allows JPJ to re-anchor and win the rep.

Given Andre James’ struggles this season, I don’t see why the Raiders should bring Powers-Johnson back to guard given how well he played at center last weekend.