Silver And Black Pride
Turning around a defense that was abysmal making sure tackles is a tall task for any defensive coordinator — let alone a rookie one.
That’s where Rob Leonard finds himself with the Las Vegas Raiders.
After impressing head coach Klint Kubiak and earning a promotion from defensive coach and run game coordinator to the Silver & Black’s defensive coordinator, the 38-year-old is in charge of a group that ranked in the bottom five (or top five, depending on how you want to look at it) in missed tackles this past season.
If there’s an incumbent coach that knows all too well the woes of Las Vegas’ defense, it’s Leonard.
Let’s take a look at the numbers — from Pro Football Reference:
By The Numbers
Las Vegas Raiders Missed Tackles 2025
But let’s give credit where it is due: The 2025 performance was improvement over the 2024 campaign that saw then-defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s unit ranked second overall in missed tackles with 134 total. That was behind the Indianapolis Colts’ 157 tally and ahead of the Carolina Panthers 132 total. But as you can see from the 121 whiffs Pro Football Reference charted the Raiders with in 2025, sure tackling remains an issue. And lo and behold, the Colts were in front of the Raiders with 125 missed tackles to take the fourth-most spot. For inquiring minds, the Cincinnati Bengals were far and away the whiff masters of the 2025 season with 170 missed tackles.
As the Raiders embark on training camp under Kubiak’s watchful eye, let’s put it as blunt as I can: The team can’t afford to whiff on tackles this coming season like it did in year’s past. To help alleviate that and provide the rookie defensive coordinator ample talent, general manager John Spytek went to work this offseason bolstering the roster in free agency and the draft, all put Leonard in an advantageous position in his inaugural season as defensive boss.
The team’s poor tackling was a result of a three components and the struggles at the linebacker position was chief among them. The woes also includes scheme and technique breakdown and the lack of consistent pressure from the defensive front.
Let’s kickoff with the linebacker spot. To say the linebacker position was an area of opportunity for the Silver & Black was a gross understatement. And the NFL Next Gen Stats post above is a prime example of shoring up deficiencies Las Vegas addressed this offseason.
Quay Walker (three-year, $40.5 million contract) and Nakobe Dean (three-year, $30.6 million deal) are two high-priced additions the Raiders made to stock up a porous position group. Walker’s addition bodes well for shoring up the shoddy tackling due to ranking third according to NFL statistics tracking in missed...
