Raiders Defense Must Force More Turnovers in 2023

The Las Vegas Raiders must be better at taking the ball away in order to win more games in 2023.

The Las Vegas Raiders’ defense struggled in several aspects of the game last season.

While the Raiders were at the bottom of the league in many categories, including total yards allowed and team sacks, one statistic is more noticeable than the others: turnovers.

The Raiders had six interceptions and seven fumble recoveries in 2022, near the bottom of the league. For a defense that struggled last season, a large part was because they could not force takeaways and get the ball back to their offense.

Last season, safety Duron Harmon and linebacker Denzel Perryman each accounted for two interceptions, and neither of those players is on the team anymore. Perryman also accounted for one of the Raiders’ fumble recoveries. That leaves cornerback Amik Robertson, who also had two.

Maxx Crosby accounted for three of the team’s seven forced fumbles, and Chandler Jones accounted for three of the seven recoveries. Robertson and Nate Hobbs are the only players still on the team to account for recovery.

There were some flashes of good defensive play when it came to forcing turnovers last season, including Robertson’s 68-yard fumble return touchdown against the Denver Broncos, the Raiders’ first defensive touchdown in three years, and Jones’ fumble recovery touchdown to win the game against the New England Patriots.

These flashes are encouraging, but they must happen more consistently for the Raiders’ defense to improve and win more football games.

The Raiders brought in several new defensive players in free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft to help fix this issue, including safety Jaquan Johnson and cornerback Duke Shelley, who had interceptions last season.

They also drafted Maryland cornerback Jakorian Bennett in the fourth round, who had two interceptions last season, and Georgia safety Christopher Smith II, who had three interceptions and a forced fumble.

Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham knows his unit needs to improve if the Raiders want to win games next season, and that starts with more consistently taking the ball away and providing the offense more chances.

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