Silver And Black Pride
I broke down the Las Vegas Raiders offensive starters in my projections, and there was a few surprises but not many. Defensively, there’s a lot more room for surprises, especially in the secondary & defensive line. There’s still roughly 3.5 months till the Raiders week 1 game vs the Miami Dolphins, but things have already started to come to light on who will be placed where positionally, and battles arise quickly throughout camp. The Raiders return few defensive starters from 2025, letting starting defensive backs Lonnie Johnson and Kyu Blu Kelly walk, their entire linebacker core of Jamal Adams, Elandon Roberts, and Devin White still sit as free agents, and the team moved on from EDGE rushers Tyree Wilson & Charles Snowden who saw playtime in 2025. Additionally, DC Patrick Graham parted ways to head to the Steelers, and was replaced by his disciple in Rob Leonard who projects to run a heavy amount of concepts from the Mike MacDonald & Patrick Graham tree. Leonard, who’s preached aggression, physicality, and versatility has made that clear with the teams defensive additions this off-season, and I’d expect the Raiders to be a blitz first team and rank inside the top 5 for blitz rate this season.
EDGE: Maxx Crosby & Kwity Paye
This is a tough one, well, not the Maxx Crosby part, that one is pretty simple. Crosby will see a reduced workload for the Raiders in 2026, and it’s not for a bad reason. Crosby has suffered a string of knee, ankle, and basically entire lower body injuries during his career especially in recent seasons. Las Vegas needs to prioritize Crosby’s health, and while he clearly wants to play 100% of the snaps, it’s not in his or the Raiders best interest for him to do so. The Raiders are the deepest off the EDGE they have been in a long time, and they need to utilize that fully. Crosby & Paye will be the best run defending EDGE duo in the NFL, and I’d be shocked if Las Vegas doesn’t have a top 5 run defense again under Rob Leonard after ranking 5th in 2025. Kwity Paye has had an extremely up and down career, he’s been an average pass rusher though he’s also popped 32 sacks in his career including two seasons of 8+ sacks and two seasons of 4 or 4.5 sacks. The 6’3/265 pound EDGE rusher works exceptionally well as a base 5T, with some work at 7 and while he’s an average to above average athlete, Paye is strong, and wins with his speed to power consistently to pair with good hand combat skills. He’s just 27 years old, and there’s a world where Paye can succeed in Las Vegas in a rotational setting, and playing opposite Maxx Crosby should elevate his game as is. Paye will have some competition with Malcolm Koonce, who came on strong in 2025 after missing 2024 with a torn ACL. The usual recovery period to full return to play...
