Jordan Meredith has embraced 'becoming comfortable in the uncomfortable areas'

Aug 04, 2025 at 04:16 PM

Levi Edwards

Digital Team Reporter

Good things come to those who wait.

Since arriving to the Raiders in 2022, Jordan Meredith has been patiently working toward the opportunity he's now presented with.

The undrafted lineman from Western Kentucky spent the majority of his first NFL season on the Raiders' practice squad, with a quick month-long stint with the Cleveland Browns in-between Raiders signings. He then made the Raiders' initial 53-man roster for the first time the following season.

Meredith's time to stand out came in 2024 when he was plugged in at both guard spots due to injuries on the line. In 14 games played with eight starts, Meredith allowed a quarterback pressure on only 5.6 percent of his pass blocking snaps and allowed 1.5 sacks, which was the least of any offensive lineman (min. 200 snaps) on the team. His 80.8 offensive grade from Pro Football Focus was also the highest of any lineman on the team.

Throughout the process, Meredith has become comfortable within the Raiders locker room, considering the desert his home.

"My first couple of years I went back home and trained there/ I had a good crew there," Meredith said. "This last summer and winter, I decided to stay here with [head strength and conditioning coach] AJ [Neibel], work out at the Raiders [facility], be around the guys. It's been a lot of fun."

That training regime has been noticed by his fellow teammates in the trenches.

"I remember last offseason, he was here every day, putting in work, and you could see the steps he's been taking," left tackle Kolton Miller said. "He's been in the league for a while now, and I think now he's really showing up. He showed up last year, that's for sure. He got his chance. He stepped up and seeing him progress has been really cool. I just hope he continues progressing and see where he goes."

Smooth snap from Jordan Meredith to Geno Smith, who then connects with Phillip Dorsett for a chunk-yardage play.

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— Vegas Sports Today (@VegasSportsTD) August 3, 2025

Heading into his fourth year with the Raiders, a new regime has taken the time to become familiar with Meredith. According to Pete Carroll, the lineman's potential jumped off the screen when evaluating last year's film.

"He played really efficiently last year," Carroll said. "His numbers and his consistency really showed up, even though you didn't see him as a regular all the time. He just opened our eyes in the offseason studies. And so we're just giving him a shot."

However, the shot they're taking on him seemingly might not be at guard, but at center.

It hasn't been a complete shock seeing Meredith line up at center, a position he's filled in at sparingly with scout team. But it's become apparent over the last two weeks of training camp that he could emerge as the starting option.

"They came up to me this offseason and said, 'Get ready to play some center,'" Meredith recalled. "And then during OTAs, definitely learning the ins and outs and becoming comfortable in the uncomfortable areas. Then coming into training camp, felt pretty confident being able to play center and just trying to do the best I can and make sure that my brothers can rely on me and go out there and compete."

Meredith shuffling in for first-team reps also aligns with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly's desire for versatility. He mentioned Meredith's ability to play center and guard as a viable attribute as the offensive coordinator looks to start the best five offensive linemen, regardless of specific position.

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"You're going to have either seven or eight guys up on gameday. So whoever the five starters are, that's great," Kelly said. "Those other three guys, you don't have 10, so you don't have a backup left tackle, backup right tackle, backup right guard, backup left guard, backup center. You got three guys, and they've got to be able to go in no matter who goes down. If you lose two tackles, then two of those backups are technically going to go play tackle now, and the more versatile those other guys are, the better it's going be for your depth, especially in-game."

Things are going Meredith's way early in training camp, but the jury is still out on the direction the offensive line will ultimately go.

Meredith is competing for a starting role, at either center or right guard, with Jackson Powers-Johnson and veteran Alex Cappa. So, yes – this could be Meredith's time to breakthrough and become a full-time starter. But it's an opportunity he still must earn.

Fortunately, the confidence continues to build every day for the once obscure undrafted guard.

"Going out there and practicing, learning from the mistakes, learning from the good things and trying to grow on it, I feel that's where you build your confidence," Meredith said. "Being beside DJ [Glaze], Cappa, JPJ, all those guys, knowing the chemistry with them and feeling them next to me, that's what's builds confidence with me."

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Las Vegas Raiders long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer (50) on the field for practice at 2025 Training Camp at Intermountain Health Performance Center.