Dolphins should be shopping for Tua’s birthday present at day three of NFL Combine
Nothing would say happy birthday more to Tua Tagoavalioa than a shiny new starting center, the best one in the country.
If the Dolphins keep their pick and want to surprise Tua with an offensive lineman, they should go all out and pound the tables for Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson, who is hands down, the best center on the board. He can also play both guard positions and should be considered the best all-around interior offensive lineman.
Powers-Johnson met with the Miami Dolphins brain trust Friday night and came away very impressed. He deemed everything about the visit as “amazing”.
"“They are an amazing team, they have an amazing general manager and an amazing coach. It was just a great time too. Something that really goes out about the Dolphins to me is, just how young the coach is. It’s something I can relate to. It doesn’t matter how old you are, it matters how good you are. He’s an amazing coach. And even though he is young, he is an amazing coach and I’d be honored to play for him and play for that amazing GM and amazing offensive line coach,”"
- Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon center
Powers-Johnson is the type of plug and play athlete that can come in and start right away. With Connor Williams out with an injury, and likely to leave anyway through free agency, it would be wise to get a franchise center that you can mold the offensive line around that will make the offense even stronger, It makes sense from the practical sense that three interior offensive linemen need to be replaced in Williams, Robert Hunt and Isaiah Wynn.
To make matters worse, Williams will more than likely not be ready for the start of the season as he tore his ACL around mid-season. Powers-Johnson could be the best center that Miami has had since Dwight Stephenson, who was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.
While at Oregon, he started at both guard positions the first three seasons and then transferred to center and never looked back. At the end of his final collegiate season, he was named first-team All-American by the AP. Powers-Johnson says that he patterns his game after Jason Kelce, Ryan Jensen, and Creed Humphrey. Not a bad trio to be emulating.
"“I’m a bigger center, and I think I can move pretty good and just being a physical nasty center. And just having fun playing football. I think you can see it on film. I feel like I have great outside zone (scheme Miami plays). I think my coaches at Oregon really did a great job preparing me for that. And I feel like I could fit in that scheme.”"
- Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon center
When his 15 minutes were up, he left the media, literally hungry for more. He told a story about his favorite food at the Elk Horn Brewery in Eugene.
"“It’s called the Big Jack’s Burger. There’s a lot of stuff in it. It’s a big man’s delight. So, start with the patties. We’ll start with the bun, really great brioche bun. Under that, we have a little bit of barbecue, we have some queso. We have some Mac and Cheese, some pulled pork, some bacon, two things of patties and then a bun under there. And then, yeah, if you can finish that, I think the meal is probably free.”"
If Jackson Powers-Johnson is still on the board at 21, the Dolphins cannot mess this one up. They must pick a center that, like Tagovailoa, can be with the team for many years. This is a no-brainer pick.