Silver And Black Pride
The Las Vegas Raiders’ defense has undergone a lot of changes during the offseason, including at the top of the coaching staff. Rob Leonard was promoted from defensive line coach/run game coordinator to defensive coordinator, where he inherits a unit that could have up to seven new starters on it compared to last season. That creates some projects that Leonard will have to work on between now and September 13.
From a game plan or philosophy standpoint, this will be the most interesting aspect of Leonard’s scheme to keep tabs on during the early stages of the season. He doesn’t have experience coaching the secondary, and his biggest mentor is his predecessor, Patrick Graham.
Does that mean the Raiders will continue to run the same or similar coverages as the last four years? Graham ranked in the 48th percentile for passing yards allowed and 29th in interceptions during his tenure in Las Vegas, according to Pro Football Reference. Those numbers aren’t exactly inspiring, so maybe Leonard pivots to a different coverage scheme moving forward.
This could be a situation where he leans heavily on pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach Joe Woods, who relied fairly heavily on a man coverage as the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints defensive coordinators compared to Graham’s zone-heavy scheme. The question is, do the Silver and Black have the talent at cornerback to line up and play man-to-man frequently?
If Leonard does plan to follow through with the pivot to a 3-4 base defense, there’s a big hole in the middle of Vegas’ defensive line. Nose tackle was one of the unit’s biggest needs heading into last month’s draft, but the front office didn’t address it until the seventh round.
The good news is that the Raiders do have some young defensive tackles who can fill the void, and this is in the former d-line coach’s wheelhouse. So, he has some players to work with between J.J. Pegues, Brandon Cleveland, Gary Smith III and Laki Tasi. However, all of them need development, especially Tasi, who had never played the sport until last year.
Granted, Leonard could turn to veterans Benito Jones or Adam Butler as a holdover for a year. But neither of those two offers much long-term value, and they were bad run defenders a year ago.
Another project that’s right up the defensive coordinator’s alley. He’s done well developing pass-rushers like Malcolm Koonce and K’Lavon Chaisson in Las Vegas, and Leonard will need to continue that trend moving forward.
Koonce could fill the complementary pass-rush role opposite Maxx Crosby next season, but Koonce still needs some development since he didn’t look the same in 2025 after missing the 2024 campaign with a torn ACL. Also, he only re-signed to a one-year deal, and the team’s primary goal this season is to build for the future.
That could shift Leaonard’s attention to getting the most out of Kwity Paye and Keyron Crawford....
