The Growth of Raiders DE Malcolm Koonce is Evident

The Las Vegas Raiders were waiting for DE Malcolm Koonce to emerge last season. This season, they are hoping he dominates.

Dec 25, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) recovers his fumble as he is hit by Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Adam Butler (69) and defensive end Malcolm Koonce (51) during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, as he entered his third season in the National Football League, defensive end Malcolm Koonce needed to prove the Raiders made the right move in selecting him out of Buffalo years prior. While unquestionably talented, Koonce had yet to fully develop into a dependable player for the Silver and Black. 

While development was a part of Koonce's issue in his first few seasons in the league, another problem was not getting enough playing time in games to develop his skills. After the Raiders fired Josh McDaniels, Koonce’s playing time went up, and so did his production. 

After spending much of the first half of the season coming close to registering sacks on many occasions without completing the sacks, Koonce improved his game weekly as he continued to take full advantage of his increased playing time.

Raiders defensive line coach Rob Leonard said Koonce has taken the offseason to get even better as he looks to build upon a successful second half of last season. 

"He's grown tremendously. I think just the results were - I know that everybody talks about the last eight games, but I mean, he was winning a lot of rushes early just without the result,” Leonard said last week. “We try to stay away from focusing on the result of the sack. Christian [Wilkins] could get a good middle push, and the quarterback flush out the back, and nine [Tyree Wilson] gets the sack, so really focusing on the process of winning each rush. 

“And then it was fun to see it click for him. And he has that personality when he starts head butting and he starts getting like juiced up -- 98 [Maxx Crosby] always brings the juice - when he gets going, then it really affects the whole unit. He's just fun. He has a great personality, always smiling, easy to talk to. A man of few words, but he's awesome." 

The Raiders enter this season expecting one of the league's best defenses. For that to happen, they will need Koonce to play like he did during the second half of last season for all 17 games this season. If he does so, it is nearly impossible to imagine the Raiders not having a top-ten defense this season.

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