An in depth and complete scouting report and draft prospect profile of Oregon Center Jackson Powers-Johnson for the NFL Draft.

Player: Jackson Powers-Johnson

School: Oregon

Age: 21

Jackson Powers-Johnson Measurables:

• Height: 6’3” (NFL Combine)
• Weight: 328 (NFL Combine)
• Vertical Jump: 32” (NFL Combine)
• Broad Jump: 8’8” (NFL Combine)
• Bench: 30 (NFL Combine)
• Other Notes:
  • Measured in 8 lbs heavier at Combine than ESPN had listed
  • Wildly unimpressed by JPJ first rep. Lateral movement looks better but he doesn’t move smooth
  • When trying to turn the corner on the long pull drill, JPJ almost fell again. Not great start
  • JPJ just looks stiff/tight on the short pull drill
  • Good rep by JPJ on right side kick slide drill, best rep of his positional drills
  • JPJ left side kick slide rep not great. Almost fell backward. Going to get caught on his heels, we noted it while watching his tape

Film Watched: Washington x2, Texas Tech, Some Senior Bowl 1-on-1’s, Utah

Prospect Grade: 63%

Projected Draft Day: Rounds 2-3

Player Comparison: Michael Onwenu

Best Team Fits: Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers

Jackson Powers-Johnson Summary:

The Positives

• It seems like he can handle NTs 1-on-1… for the most part
• His snap to fireout rate is pretty quick
• Built like a small house
• Utah film is incredible, it shows the type of prospect people are hyping JPJ to be
• Film pops when he’s moving forward. Let him roll his hips into someone

The Negatives

• Footwork is sloppy and inconsistent, and at times non-existent
  • You can see it in the way he kick slides at times, he’s going to get caught on his heels more than a team would like 
  • Feet don’t stick with his upper body, lots of lean at times
• Lateral movement is slow and awkward. Strays away from shuffle cause he can’t keep up
• Speed in doubt
  • There’s a play against Texas Tech right before half, a RB screen and he looks like he is moving in slow motion. 

Side Notes

• Needs to work on sustaining his blocks. In most cases he’s more of a puncher than sustainer
• Of the linemen we’ve watched he’s our candidate for slowest at the combine
• The Giants apparently asked him at the Senior Bowl to play guard, but we don’t know if that’s a great idea. Limited mobility would worry us with him as a guard, especially pulling.
• Strength may be in question?
• Texas Tech and Utah tape look better than Washington tape. He actually gets up to the second level
• His Senior Bowl 1-on-1’s show more ability in lateral movement and movement in general than we saw in most of the 2 games we watched. 

Jackson Powers-Johnson is both a rough and head scratching prospect. The Texas Tech tape is pretty significantly better than the Washington tape, but still isn’t “elite” for lack of a better term. His footwork and lower body mechanics are bad. His lateral movement may be the worst of it all. However, that being said when you watch his Senior Bowl 1-on-1’s, he shows better lateral movement and movement in general than his game tape shows. It’s possible he’s just getting better with time, but can’t confirm that right now. The Combine is going to be massive for him either in a good or bad way. We try not to judge any prospect for their size, but we wonder if a weight cut could help Powers-Johnson as he makes his way to the next level. 

Updated 4/25/24: Jackson Powers-Johnson is a better prospect upon a rescout than we saw in our original scout. That being said, some of our original summary still stands true. His footwork and lateral movement in particular are still worrisome to us. We were hoping to see improvements at the Combine, but we were far from impressed by his day in the positional drills. We think he can be a good starter for most teams, but to get the most out of him we want to see a run heavy team draft him. Let him move forward rather than get caught on his heels and see what he can do. With our concerns, JPJ could be a boom-or-bust prospect. 

Updated 4/25/24:

• Combine numbers added to measurable portion of profile
• Grade switched from “59%” to “63%”
• Projection switched from “Day 3, Fringe Day 2” to “Rounds 2-3” Comp switched from “Shades of Ben Jones and Justin Britt” to “Michael Onwenu”
• “Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers” added as Best Team Fits
• Positives Added
  • Built like a small house
  • Utah film is incredible, it shows the type of prospect people are hyping JPJ to be
  • Film pops when he’s moving forward. Let him roll his hips into someone
• Negatives Removed
  • He generally seems more like a catcher than the aggressor, especially when it comes to second level blocks. More passive than you’d like to see
    • Going to second level was night and day different in Texas Tech game than Washington