It was worth noting what Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce recently said about this new unit under Rob Leonard. In the most polite way possible, it sounds like no one knew what they were doing last year.
Last year, the Raiders were supposed to have seen a magical turnaround for the defense. It was to have reached another level with the infusion of Pete Carroll and his brilliant defensive knowledge. You combined that with Patrick Graham and it was to have been special. Instead, it was the literal opposite.
The vision was never clear and you could tell as the season dragged on, there wasn’t any synchronicity; it was too many hands in the cookie jar.
2026 should, in theory, be different with Leonard being handed the reins by new head coach Klint Kubiak. The first-year boss will have his hands full building a new Raiders offense so the task of leading Maxx Crosby and Co. falls to Leonard. The way Koonce sees it, things are already looking vastly different than last season.
“I think it’s extremely different,” said Koonce. “I felt like last year, sometimes people were in their heads, and maybe mentally we kind of lost our competitive edge sometimes.” It’s an interesting statement, especially the comment regarding the mental aspect. Perhaps, too much was being thrown at these players; overcomplicating things that didn’t need to be.
“So, definitely this year feels like a complete turnaround,” Koonce went on to state. Speaking of turnarounds, Raider Nation is hoping Koonce can recapture what he had two years ago when he seemed poised to turn into a heralded pass rusher before a devastating injury derailed him.
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*Top Photo: Getty Images