WATCH: Raiders DC Patrick Graham with the Latest on the Silver and Black Defense

The Las Vegas Raiders are set to host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in a game that carries significant consequences for both a win and a loss. Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham spoke ahead of the matchup, and we have all his comments for you.

Las Vegas Raiders DC Patrick Graham / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders (2-12) will host the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-11) at Allegiant Stadium this weekend. While both teams are out of contention for the NFL Playoffs, they are competing for the number one overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

The defensive coordinator of the Raider Nation, Patrick Graham, spoke ahead of the matchup. We have the entire press conference and transcript available for you to watch below:

Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham

Q: K'Lavon Chaisson, going back to his time in Jacksonville, but he has really blossomed under your tutelage and Robbie Leonard's. Can you talk about his growth since he's gotten here and his expansion of his production?

Coach Graham: "I mean, I've wanted to coach KC [K'Lavon Chaisson] since he was coming out of college. I remember the Zoom meeting, I believe it was during - I can't remember what it was, but somehow I met him. He wore that 18 at LSU, smart player. Anytime you got somebody in the front that has the flexibility in terms of coverage, rush, set the edge and intelligence, that's somebody that - I mean, I want that in the front, because it's going to give you some flexibility. In terms of his growth, I mean you have to talk to him about that. I just know that, again, what I've encountered and what I knew about from the process, smart player who wants to do right. He's done everything I’ve asked him to. Probably dropped him a little bit too much last week, but he didn't say anything. But it's a good tool to have out there for our toolbox, out there for our defense in terms of how we decide to defend the field. And I couldn't be happier with how he's progressed for us. And I'm glad he's getting some production, and I like his leadership. There's a lot of energy. With Maxx [Crosby] not out there, he's brought a lot of energy to the room and out there at practice, and he's demanding, so that's a positive."

Q: Do you have experience in the past of players like that who are very high picks, who have to just find themselves in maybe a new location, that kind of thing where they flourish?

Coach Graham: "Yeah. I mean, I think back to Akeem Ayers. When we got him at New England, he came mid-season. I think he was at Tennessee. He had production there too, but we got him mid-season, and then by the time of the end of the year, I think he had like four or five sacks, he had an interception or two, lot of flexibility, similar in terms of somebody from college that I thought my buddy Trey Brown, who played - I think Akeem went to UCLA - he knew him. He kept telling me when he was coming out, he's like, 'You're going to like this guy.' And I think I disagreed with him early on, but then when we got him, first game he got in there, I think he had a sack. And of course Trey called me about that. And then from there, the kid just ended up getting an interception and made a big play in the Super Bowl setting the edge so [Dont'a] Hightower could make that play on Marshawn [Lynch] that led to the interception. So yeah, I've had some experience. He's the one that comes to mind when I think about in terms of similarities."

Q: It's a short week, an opponent that you guys don't always see in the Jacksonville Jaguars. They've changed quarterbacks. How challenging is that to put together the game plan, and how much you guys rely on advanced scouting and those kind of reports that come to your desk?

Coach Graham: "Everything in the building is connected. And I think, from top down, Tom [Telesco], AP [Antonio Pierce], hopefully myself but probably not - sometimes I could be a little in an ornery mood sometimes when they come down to give me some information. But everything's connected in terms of what they saw from the advanced scouting, taking the information, especially when you got an unfamiliar opponent, getting that information, whether it's that or the analytics. Kade [Rannings] does a good job for us in terms of the analytics and then studying the players, thankfully gone against Mac [Jones] a few times. So the players, similar. We played against [Doug] Pederson's system before, so there's some crossover there. But everything's connected, so we rely on everybody. So to go out there on Sunday and try to win a game in this league is hard obviously, and we've had our struggles this year, but it's all hands on deck. So that means whether it's in the building, on the field, that's what we're trying to accomplish here, and everything's connected."

Q: When do you usually get your eyes on the next opponent?

Coach Graham: "It's different for different coordinators, but I work ahead. I work I work way ahead. So, like my thoughts ahead on whoever the opponent is - again, it might fluctuate based on injuries and the quarterback changes and stuff like that, but just keep remembering I don't have any hobbies, so downtime is football time, and I have the ability to compartmentalize. I learned that from Bill [Belichick]. Even when I'm watching a different opponent, just taking notes there, here you're watching the game on TV, taking notes. I mean, I learned from the best in terms of Bill with that, because he always knew what was going on with everybody. So, try to be similar, not close, but I try."

Q: Especially when you are trying to work ahead like that, like a new wrinkle, like Evan Engram goes out, the new guy Brenton Strange comes in, all of a sudden he flourishes last week. How much does that kind of change up the approach?

Coach Graham: "Well, we're trained in this league, and I think most sports leagues, especially when you dealing with a contact sport like this, you've got to be trained in dealing with adjusting. So whether it's from practice, AP might do a sudden change period, boom got to change. We're supposed to do third down, 'Oh no, we're now in the red area, fourth and four.' So we're trained like that, from the way you come up in this league as a quality control coach. You get given like 12 tasks from five different coaches and you're dealing with that, then you do a good job there, then hopefully you transition to being on the field. And as a position coach, somebody goes down, somebody has to tie their shoe. We're just trained in that chaos of a game, a practice, which leads to everything being connected. So just being able to adjust based on injuries, that's part of our training. And you always think of like we're one of 32, whatever spot you're in, so hopefully you're one of the best in the world at doing that and you're trained to do that and you try to do your best to adjust."

Q: A couple of weeks ago, AP referred to Robert Spillane as the bell cow of the defense. How much more does that even ring true now with Maxx Crosby being out and him having to really step up and be the leader?

Coach Graham: "The biggest thing for me with Spill [Robert Spillane], he's my mouthpiece, or he's my voice out there on the field. I spend a lot of time with Spill. One, because he's a good dude, two, because our jobs both depend on each other being on the same page. So for me, from the moment he got here, wanted to hand him the keys. He wanted the keys. He's been doing a good job for me. Maxx [Crosby], again Maxx is a defensive lineman. Maxx is definitely our leader of our group and really probably for the building I would say, but just in terms of the mouthpiece, in terms of the communication is a lot of it goes through Spill, him being the green dot, him being in the middle of the defense, combined with the signal callers, the safeties. Those are the guys I spent a lot of time with. And then the way Spill plays, I mean everybody would want to be similar to that in terms of play style, production, how much he cares. That's why this makes it hard when you're not winning for somebody that cares that much and puts so much into it. It's tough. It's tough. As a leader, it's tough. You want to get that reward for them, but love everything Spill does, man. He tries to do everything I ask him to do. Doesn't mean it's going to be perfect, just like I'm not, but he tries to do everything I ask him to do, that's why he's special. He's special like that."

Q: You have two rookies who are playing a lot of snaps right now, Jonah Laulu and Decamerion Richardson. How much have you've been able to see them grow? And how much do you think these reps are going to help them moving forward?

Coach Graham: "Any rep is going to help, just repetition. Again, I could show them in the classroom, we could watch tape, but until they feel it, they experience it, that's where the growth is going to occur. But like whether they're rookies or eight-year vets, nobody cares. The fans don't care, the opponent don't care, it's about the production on Sunday. Now, how they're being productive, Jonah [Laulu] especially in terms of he had the skill set, Robbie's [Rob Leonard] a really good coach, defensive line coach, him and Dre [Andre Carter] and the one thing I know I talked about how hard he works. He corrects his mistakes, man. I mean, there's not a lot of repeat mistakes, and he's self-aware. He could come over to the sideline right now, again, he's a rookie so he's not as vocal. I always have to tell him to speak up. But I'm like, ‘Dude,’and he's like, 'I know I had my eyes down'. That to me, he's grown as a professional. That's good to see."

Q: What impresses you most about the body work that Brian Thomas Jr. has been able to put up on this season?

Coach Graham: "I mean, that damn school man, LSU. I mean, I don't know what to tell you. If my son, he doesn't play football now, but if he wants to play wide receiver, go to LSU and then daddy will retire five years later. I mean, they're really good. They got a bunch of them, it's amazing. Because there's plenty of kids that have the athletic ability, the speed, you see all the numbers in the combine. But these dudes come here to this league and they're just taking off, [Justin] Jefferson, [Ja’Marr] Chase, all these guys. I mean, [Malik] Nabers at the Giants. I mean, they're really good players. I mean, I'm sure they're probably competitive with one another. I mean for me, I remember Odell [Beckham Jr.], it probably started there, and then Jarvis Landry. I mean, I'm sure they got Twitter, a group chat or whatever. I mean, they're probably competitive because they're raising the bar each year and they could play. So, I think this guy's doing a good job. He's doing a really good job. Really good job."

Q: In a league where you're judged only on wins and losses, you mentioned the losing, but with all of your starters out, other players injured, you still hold the opponent in an NFL game to 15 points. Are you able to appreciate when the defense does things considering all against it or is it only wins and losses?

Coach Graham: "The business is about production. So as a teacher, I'm always appreciative and excited about growth. So, growth in that if we're lacking turnovers, we get turnovers. I'm appreciative of that, but am I satisfied? It really only comes down to wins and losses, but I appreciate growth. So, individually and as a unit when we grow. But no different, the fans don't care, the standings don't care. The league is a production business. You've got to win. And so, say 15 points, well, then we've got to hold them for less than our offense scores, period, point blank. That's what we've got to do. So, that's our job."

Q: How much do you change your approach with players on a short week?

Coach Graham: "I talked to them, I really talked to them about the mental approach to it, I talked to the young players about the physical approach to it. I said, 'Listen', especially to the rookies, I'm like, 'You don't know, you've got to talk to the vets.' So, I'm big on that, prepping them for the recovery physically, the recovery emotionally for the game. Because any of you guys that played, and especially at this level, it's an emotional game. You've got to play with your emotions to a certain degree. So, that's one thing I talked to him a lot about that, and then I tell them, 'I'm going to stay out of your way, I'm not going to add too much to screw you up or anything like that on a short week.'"

Q: Going back to Jonah Laulu, he had made a nice play where he batted the ball down, but then afterwards, he was actually more focused on he was in the wrong place, he said he took the wrong angle, or something like that, was more focused on that than and had he not done that, maybe it would have been an even better play. But when you hear a young player, talk about not even taking the credit for it and pointing out that it was actually not what I was supposed to be doing, what does that say about a young player?

Coach Graham: "Real dude. I mean, I hope you all know what I mean by that. That's how we talk around here, talking about real dudes, guys I’ve been around 'Hey, Pat I could’ve got the ball.' Those are the guys that I’ve got pictures of in my study at the house in Florida. Those are the guys that are real dudes man. They could have done more and I'm appreciative of that. So, he's a young player, he'll learn from mistakes and those plays will come to him and he's going to keep working. But real dudes, that's how they talk."

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