Film room: Jonah Laulu turns heads against Chiefs

Rookie defensive tackle shows promise amid terrible loss

At this point in the season, the Las Vegas Raiders are looking to see young players on the roster show promise and be a potential building block for the future. Rookie defensive tackle Jonah Laulu has been getting more playing time as a result, and he put together an impressive performance in Week 13 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Laulu was the Raiders’ highest-graded defender (80.1), according to Pro Football Focus, and by a wide margin as Robert Spillane finished in second place with a mark of 66.8 (minimum 20 snaps).

The Oklahoma product was especially impressive against the run, posting an 82.3 grade that is third-best among defensive tackles league-wide for the week. He also picked up a couple of defensive stops at an 18.2 percent rate, the latter ranking seventh at his position.

That’s more than enough reason to flip on the tape and check out Laulu’s performance.

The Chiefs run a mid-zone to the weakside B-gap which is Laulu’s responsibility in the Raiders run fit. He does a good job of using his hands to stand up and defeat Trey Smith’s block, anchoring and taking away the rushing lane where the play call is designed to hit for Kareem Hunt.

That helps Adam Butler, who has a great rep by getting penetration from the backside of the play, pick up a tackle for loss. Had it not been for those two, this could have been a big gain for Kansas City since John Jenkins got blocked into the second level and the cutback lane would have been open.

The Raiders have a numbers advantage here pre-snap with seven defenders in the box and and only six blockers. So the Chiefs dial up a designed cutback here where the idea is that the playside blocks are good enough that Hunt can either outrun Spillane and/or the linebacker makes the tackle several yards down the field.

However, Las Vegas has a good blitz call where Spillane comes off the edge and Tre’von Moehrig has momentum while coming downhill to win at the point of attack against Smith, plugging up the B-gap.

Also, Laulu does his job by absorbing contact against the combo block from Smith and Creed Humphrey initially before creating a stalemate with Humphrey at the line of scrimmage when Smith peels off to pickup Moehrig. As a result, Hunt has nowhere to run and Spillane can get an unblocked tackle for a short gain.

The linebackers get beat here as Spillane and Divine Deablo get kicked out of their gaps and Butler ends up chest-to-chest with the left tackle, leading to the explosive run by Isiah Pacheco. However, this is a quality rep from our subject.

Kansas City runs inside zone while Laulu is lined up as a 2i-technique or inside shade on the left guard. Once he sees the guard he immediately shifts his eyes and hands to the center. At the point of attack, the defensive tackle has great pad level and hand placement on the center’s chest, allowing him to stand Humphrey up and reset the line of scrimmage.

That takes away the A-gap and forces Pacheco to cut back, meaning Laulu has successfully done his job. Humphrey is widely considered one of the best centers in the NFL and this is a couple of good reps against him from the rookie.

This last play is technically a pass but it functions more like a run as Kansas City tries to fake the speed option and gives the defense a counter run read while running a shovel pass to the second puller/tight end.

Laulu is lined up as a 4i-technique defensive end or inside shade on the left tackle and wins at the point of attack to gain control of the block. He does take a risk by leaving his gap and working across the tackle’s face, but he manages to close the gap with the man for the gamble to pay off.

Also, that allows the defensive lineman to take on the puller and occupy two offensive linemen. As a result, Spillane is unblocked and free to make the tackle near the line of scrimmage, along with a handful of other defenders.

Overall, this was an encouraging performance from Laulu to build some momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.