How Raiders' Jackson Powers-Johnson, DJ Glaze fared in starting debuts

Mike Moraitis

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How Raiders' Jackson Powers-Johnson, DJ Glaze fared in starting debuts image

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The Las Vegas Raiders drafted two offensive lineman in April in guard Jackson Powers-Johnson and tackle DJ Glaze, with the hope that both will be part of the future of the group upfront.

But we barely got to see either player over the first three weeks of the 2024 season. Powers-Johnson didn't make his debut until Week 3 after missing a ton of time in the offseason due to injury, and Glaze was stuck behind Thayer Munford Jr.

However, both got the starting nod in Week 4. Powers-Johnson was inserted into the lineup at left guard in place of Cody Whitehair, who had struggled mightily over the first three games, and Glaze started at right tackle in the wake of the injury to Munford.

Powers-Johnson excelled in pass protection, as he didn't surrender a single pressure and posted the second-best pass-blocking grade among Raiders offensive lineman with a 79.6, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF wasn't as kind to him in run-blocking, though, as JPJ notched a 48.1.

Powers-Johnson now has two strong showings to begin his career. In limited action in Week 3, JPJ gave up one pressure and posted the third-best pass-blocking grade among Raiders linemen with a 76.5. He was also better in run-blocking than his Week 4 showing, with the Oregon product tallying a grade of 59.8.

As far as Glaze was concerned, he allowed one pressure but it wasn't turned into a sack. Still, that wasn't enough to prevent him from getting a terrible pass-blocking grade of 45.7, which was the second-worst among offensive linemen behind only Kolton Miller, of all people.

That said, we'll take that grade when you consider it was his first NFL start and he only gave up the one pressure. Adding to that, Raiders tackles had a tough matchup against a Cleveland Browns team that sports arguably the best edge rusher in the world, Myles Garrett, and a very good player opposite him in Za'Darius Smith.

In run-blocking, Glaze actually fared better than JPJ in terms of his grade, with the Maryland product earning a 56.9. While the run-blocking grades for both DJ and JPJ don't reflect a very good performance in the run game by either rookie, it is worth noting that the Raiders had a season-high rushing yards total with their rookies in the lineup.

Overall, there is plenty to be encouraged by after the starting debuts of Glaze and Powers-Johnson. The latter figures to remain the starter moving forward after two strong outings, but it remains to be seen if Glaze will stay once Munford Jr. is healthy. We think the rookie did enough to keep the job.

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Mike Moraitis

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After cutting his teeth with Bleacher Report, Mike Moraitis has covered the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans for FanSided, and the Titans and New York Giants for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. On top of his duties with Sporting News, Mike is the managing editor and lead writer for Titans Wire.