The Raiders’ 3-0 start has been built on more than a hot offense or a few lucky breaks. The defense has been the real headline, and through three weeks, Rob Leonard’s group has given Las Vegas something it hasn’t had in a long time: steady, week-to-week impact across the board.
That matters because Leonard wasn’t some clean-slate hire. He was one of the few holdovers from last year’s staff, and Klint Kubiak made a calculated bet by keeping a first-time defensive coordinator in place, even though the two had never worked together before this season.
So far, that gamble has paid off. Leonard has put together a pass rush that doesn’t lean completely on Maxx Crosby, and the secondary has been better than it has been in more than a decade.
The results have shown up in the most important place. Through three games, the Raiders haven’t allowed a point in the fourth quarter. There’s a long list of contributors behind that, but Pro Football Focus’ weekly grades help spotlight three defenders who have stood out most.
Malcolm Koonce is one of them. PFF gave him a 75.4 grade, and the Raiders have essentially turned him into a pass-rush specialist.
He has played just under half of the team’s defensive snaps, and 74 percent of his 92 snaps have come on passing plays. The production has followed: 2.5 sacks on the season, plus a pressure against the Saints that helped lead to a Hezekiah Masses interception.
PFF says Koonce is winning on 17.9 percent of his pass rushes, a figure that trails Crosby’s 19.8 percent only slightly.
Nakobe Dean has been even more productive. His 84.5 grade reflects just how much he’s doing for this defense.
Dean has 1.5 sacks, 27 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles, and PFF credits him with 14 stops. For context, the next closest Raider is Quay Walker with six.
Dean’s play has been central to the Raiders’ unbeaten start, and former Raiders wide receiver James Jones has gone as far as to say Dean and Walker form the best linebacker duo in the league.
Then there’s Crosby, who remains the engine of it all. His 89.8 grade leads the group, even if 1.5 sacks through three games is low by his standards.
The numbers underneath are still loud. Crosby has won on 19.8 percent of his pass rushes and ranks fifth in the league with 17 quarterback pressures, according to PFF.
He has come close to more sacks than the box score shows, which makes a spike in that total feel inevitable. And maybe the biggest development of all: Crosby appears to be healthy after major knee surgery in January.
It’s still early, and October brings a brutal stretch, but the Raiders finally have something real to hang their hat on defensively. For the first time in a long while, there’s legitimate reason to be excited about that side of the ball in Vegas.
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