This Season Already Has a Different Feel for the Raiders' Defense

As they enter year three under Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham, the Las Vegas Raiders return nearly every starter from last season. Still, there is a different feel to the unit this offseason.

Las Vegas Raiders Superstar DE Maxx Crosby / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

After firing Josh McDaniels halfway through last season and promoting former Linebackers Coach Antonio Pierce to the interim head coaching position, the Las Vegas Raiders produced one of the best defenses in the league over the season's final nine games. Earlier this offseason, General Manager Tom Telesco added one of the best defensive tackles in the league, Christian Wilkins. 

The move, undoubtedly the most significant of Telesco’s new tenure with the team, is presumed to be the missing piece to a defense vastly familiar with each other and their coordinator. Defensive lineman Malcolm Koonce, linebackers Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo, and defensive linemen Maxx Crosby and Adam Butler are all coming off some of the best seasons of their respective careers. 

The Raiders’ group of defensive backs lacked depth entering the offseason. However, the Raiders have high expectations for cornerbacks Jack Jones and Nate Hobbs. They also believe second-year cornerback Jakorian Bennett will improve this offseason. 

Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham notes that the Raiders returning nearly every starter from last season has been a positive for the team, especially from a leadership standpoint, as defensive leaders such as Crosby and Spillane are essentially coaches on the field for other players. Although Wilkins is the only new addition to the Raiders defense, Graham said no two seasons in the National Football League are the same.

"Each season is so different, and the players, it's great to have some of the leadership back and the signal callers,” Graham said. “That's a positive in terms of the relationship that I have with them and them being an extension of me out there on the field. But does it feel different? Slightly, yes, but we know what we have ahead of us, and I'm excited about that."

While there is no guarantee of how well the Raiders' defense will or will not perform this upcoming season, Graham and Coach Pierce refuse to lean on the unit’s success over the second half of last season as they prepare for this upcoming season. No team stays the same from season to season, no matter how many players and coaches return from the previous season. In the ever-changing NFL, teams are either getting better, or they are getting worse. Graham plans on helping the unit improve as they enter a pivotal season for many Raiders coaches and players.

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