Silver And Black Pride
The Las Vegas Raiders’ defense came through big in a 20-13 win at the New England Patriots in Week 1.
A big reason was the performance of three key players from each level of the unit. Let’s take a look at these three big-time surprise performances.
Thomas Booker:
The defensive tackle, acquired in a trade from the Philadelphia Eagles for cornerback Jakorian Bennett, played 59 percent of the defensive snaps in Week 1. He surpassed that percentage just once in his first 27 NFL games. He showed solid pressure from the interior and was a high-effort player. Expect him to stay at the top of the rotation.
Devin White:
White was a star early in his career, but the linebacker had been floundering in recent seasons. Yet, White reunited with new Raiders’ general manager John Spytek from their Tampa Bay days and has been re-energized in las Vegas. He followed up a strong training camp, but the flying around the field all day in New England and he had 11 tackles Sunday. He had 19 tackles of last season. If White can keep up his glory-days play, the Raiders will have a standout linebacker.
Kyu Blu Kelly:
Kelly, a teammate of Booker’s at Stanford, played 32 defensive snaps in his two-season career before Sunday. He played 100 percent of the snaps in this game. Considered a fringe roster player to start training camp, Kelly held up as a starter. He wasn’t perfect, but he did provide solid coverage. He will be challenged in the net few weeks, but Pete Carroll’s initial faith in him paid off nicely in Week 1.
Conclusion:
Booker and White are newcomers and Kelly played 14 snaps for Las Vegas last season. If these unexpected starters can keep it up, there will be a lot less questions about this defense in 2025.
