Jackson Powers-Johnson, the center for the Oregon Ducks and the leader of the Oregon offensive line, has declared for the 2024 NFL Draft.
With a year of eligibility remaining, there was a chance Powers-Johnson would stick around for another season, but after receiving positive evaluations from NFL scouts, he has decided to go pro.
Powers-Johnson was spectacular in 2023, and he received first-team All-Pac-12 honors for his efforts. Additionally, the Oregon O-line was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award — given to the best O-line in college football — and Powers-Johnson finished the season with the highest pass-blocking, run-blocking, and overall Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades of any center in FBS, which made him PFF All-American.
It’s not often that a team’s center is a star, but that’s exactly what Jackson Powers-Johnson was as a Duck. Whether it was near-weekly appearance on ESPN’s Get Up for a fantastic pancake block he made the previous Saturday or his humble-yet-confident personality, JPJ was a great player for any Ducks fan to root for during his time at Oregon.
Oregon will need to replace Powers-Johnson at center for 2024 and beyond, and true freshman Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu is a likely candidate. Laloulu played several positions along the Ducks O-line this season as a sub-lineman, but when Powers-Johnson was forced to miss a play after an injury against Washington, Laloulu filled the hole.
A strong offensive line is key at any level of football, and Powers-Johnson is seen as one of the most desirable building blocks in the draft by many front offices in the NFL. Center’s aren’t usually the most sought-after O-line prospects (the top spots are usually reserved for blindside-blocking tackles), but Powers-Johnson is still expected to be drafted in the first or second round this April.
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