I previously broke down the Raiders 2024 and 2025 differences on offense. This time around on defense, the Raiders may not be as fortunate. The team upgraded their offensive heavily, defensively things were the focal point of criticism this off-season. New head coach Pete Carroll has a track record of elite defenses from his time at USC and obviously with the Seahawks. The Raiders and Patrick Graham have had their ups and downs but hopefully 2025 can be the year things click, but development looms big:
* Note: Basing majority of the grading for upgrade/downgrade/push off players who played majority (50%+) snaps in 2024. While injuries happen, the rosters impact doesn’t change *
EDGE Rushers: Push-sorta?
- Additions: Malcolm Koonce (return from ACL injury), Brennan Jackson
- Subtractions: K’Lavon Chaisson, Andre Carter II, Janarius Robinson
Can I start by saying the whole defense has a world of confusion going on with it, and the EDGE position is no different. When you really sit down and break things down, there’s not a ton of change in the position between 2024 and 2025. The biggest change is simply the return of Malcolm Koonce. Koonce was coming off a strong 2023 season where he logged 51 pressures and 10 sacks. The Raiders were banking on Koonce in 2024 before he suffered a torn ACL ending his season before it began. In stepped Tyree Wilson and K’Lavon Chaisson. Wilson logged 37 pressures (good for 2nd on the team), 4.5 sacks, and a 10% win rate along with 27 tackles and 6 TFL. Las Vegas is banking on a big season from Wilson, who will likely rotate in with Malcolm Koonce to give Koonce the ability to stay fresh off his injury. Chaisson was notable for Las Vegas logging 29 pressures, a 12.8% win rate, 5 sacks, 7 TFL, an INT, and FF in his 15 games. Maxx Crosby will also be fully healthy in 2025, which of course is a huge step forward.
Las Vegas did retain Charles Snowden, who was alright in 2024 with 16 pressures, a 7.3% win rate, and 1.5 sacks. The Raiders also brought in former Rams 5th rounder Brennan Jackson as a bottom of the room depth piece. Jackson didn’t play significant snaps in 2024 but posted 3 sacks, a 16% win rate, and 5 pressures this preseason. After the loss of Chaisson, the rest is worth noting but not reading into much. Las Vegas may regret not retaining Chaisson, who played well when called upon as a third pass rusher. They like what they have in Snowden and Jackson provides a boost. The development of Tyree Wilson along with Crosby and Koonce being healthy do make the room a push instead of a downgrade, but a lot needs to go correct or the Raiders are really just running a three man front at EDGE.
Interior Defensive Line: Lean Downgrade, possibly I think?
- Additions: JJ Pegues, Tonka Hemingway, Thomas Booker IV, Leki Fotu
- Subtractions: John Jenkins, Zach Carter, Matthew Butler, Nesta Jade Silvera
- Sorta Subtractions: Christian Wilkins
Honestly, I don’t know what to put here. They lost Christian Wilkins who prior to his injury was top ten in stops, and led the NFL in created sacks despite just nine pressures and 1.5 sacks of his own. The team expected to get Wilkins back but issue with his recovery and differences with the team resulted in the Raiders releasing him. Wilkins was undoubtably the teams 2nd best defensive player and his loss will be felt had he played all of last season. The truth is, Wilkins didn’t play much last year and that is a factor here. Las Vegas primarily ran their interior defensive line through Adam Butler who delivered with 5.5 sacks, 31 pressures, all while ranking top ten in PRSH win rate and RSTP win rate among defensive tackles last season. Alongside Butler, returns Jonah Laulu who in his rookie season did post 10 pressures, 3 TFL, and 8 stops but only a 2.2% win rate which signals towards his main ability as a depth guy and primary run defender. Las Vegas adds rookies JJ Pegues and Tonka Hemingway who both performed well in preseason finishing top 10 in win rate and pressures among rookie IDL. In week 2 Pegues led rookies in pressures, and Hemingway led the NFL in week 3 with 6. Las Vegas is relying on the two SEC standouts to perform in 2025 as part of their rotation. Both have shown traits to be a quality pass rush lineman, and both can play the run at a decent level though there is struggles too. The team traded for Thomas Booker IV from the Eagles, and Booker did have some flashes with Philadelphia in 2024 but he didn’t see the field much, again just another player in their rotation. Lastly, the team brought in Cardinals NT Leki Fotu who is the teams only true NT and despite not playing often during training camp and preseason with a foot injury, Fotu made the roster.
Las Vegas downgrades at NT losing veteran John Jenkins who had a decent season in 2024, after a “breakout” 2023. Jenkins didn’t provide much as a pass rusher but he did rank inside the top 10 for NT in stops and was 18th in run stop win rate. The losses of Zach Carter and Matthew Butler are worth noting as both played some meaningful snaps for the Raiders but they weren’t longterm guys much like Nesta Jade Silvera. Overall, the Raiders starting DL (without Wilkins) is exactly the same subbing Fotu for Jenkins. The depth massively improved adding three high potential young players in place of journeyman. Overall the room’s confusing, the starters outside Wilkins downgrade, thus the whole room does, however Wilkins didn’t play much as mentioned so is his loss really felt that much?
Linebacker: Confused
- Additions: Germaine Pratt, Elandon Roberts, Jamal Adams (still weird to say), Devin White, Cody Lindenberg
- Subtractions: Robert Spillane, Divine Deablo, Luke Masterson, Amari Burney, Amari Gainer
This one is something, the Raiders essentially redid their entire linebacker room, while that was necessary there is a lot in this position room that is being relied on rebound seasons or a ton of development. The biggest point is losing Robert Spillane, who logged nearly 1100 snaps last season with 51 stops, just a 5.85% missed tackle rate, while adding 158 tackles, 10 TFL, 7 PBU, 2 INT, and 2 sacks. Spillane was a force for the Raiders defense in both run defense and pass rush. Coverage wise, Spillane regressed from his 2023 season and did allow 572 yards and a 111 QBR. Regardless of the coverage deficiencies, Las Vegas is losing a key part of their defense. Spillane was top 10 in tackles, stops, and missed tackle rate. The Raiders also lose Divine Deablo, who while he never lived up to the draft hopes did turn in 65 tackles, four for loss, and a sack in 14 games last season while logging 689 snaps and allowing a 115.9 QBR in coverage. Deablo was a formidable third linebacker thrust into a starting role, but he’s still a loss for the sheer volume of snaps and his at times productive play in the run as well. Luke Masterson logged 102 snaps and fell off from his 2023 season, the loss isn’t felt much for the Raiders. Amari Burney logged 101 snaps and did show potential at times but nothing much.
Things get interesting here, Las Vegas went out and added veteran Germaine Pratt who is coming off a rather down year in Cincinnati, though the whole team was. Pratt numbers wise was still highly productive as the now 29 year old logged 143 tackles, 5 TFL, 2 INT, 6 PBU, 2 FF, 2 FR, and 53 stops while only missing 19 tackles. Pratt is a little above average in terms of his overall play, he’s best in the run and has shown the ability to be a strong coverage linebacker (67.8 QBR allowed in 2022 and 86.6 in 2023) he allowed three touchdowns and a 103.5 QBR in 2024 while also allowing 659 yards on a 79% completion rate. Pratt has to step it up in the pass game, he can fill in for some of the loss of Spillane in terms of run defense, but the coverage needs to go against regression or he’s going to be an issue in the middle of the defense. Elandon Roberts flat out can’t cover, that’s nothing that’s out of the blue. The former Steelers ILB however is an great run defender, posting 56 tackles, 5 TFL, and a sack in 2024 (101 tackles, 10 TFL, 2.5 sacks in 2023). Roberts is starting to age and at 31 does still show good movement skills and play in the run game, his coverage has gotten worse. While he’s likely to not post 100+ tackles, Roberts can give the Raiders 50-60% of their snaps and be a high quality run defender but the coverage is going to prevent him from playing often. Then comes Jamal Adams who played a grand total of 40 snaps last season after 518 in 2023 and just 15 in 2022. Adams is only 29 years old (turns 30 in October) but he’s looked good in camp and in preseason as well. The Raiders are banking on the transition to ILB working out for Adams and it has thus far in camp. It’s hard to really pinpoint how often the Raiders will play Adams, and with that how well he’ll play given that his 2023 season was not over the top impressive. Adams is a massive boom or bust player at ILB, and it’s hard to tell how much his impact will be felt.
Three paragraphs already, so I’ll try to keep this one short. The 27 year old Devin White is an interesting addition to the room. He’s 5’11 and just 230 pounds but White does have crazy athletic ability. The issues come with White’s issues in terms of defending the run, coverage, effort, and not missing tackles (essentially everything but blitzing, which he is really really really good at). The Eagles signed White last off-season, released him, and then he landed with the Texans to play as a reserve LB where in 7 games he logged 176 snaps and posted decent numbers with 19 tackles, a TFL, and allowed only 50 yards, a 69.4 QBR, and 61.5% comp rate on 13 targets. White struggled with everything I noted in Tampa Bay, he’s headed into his 7th season and there’s really no reason to think that’s going to change in Las Vegas. He’s now coached by Pete Carroll and Patrick Graham, who have a history of getting a lot out of rather mediocre ILB. White has great athletic traits, could be used in specific pass rush packages, but unless he takes massive strides as a run defender, tackler, and coverage player in one off-season it’s hard to see him as more than a gadget ILB. Lastly, Tommy Eichenberg is back, he’ll be a 4th man off the bench linebacker. Just a pure run defender and ST player, Eichenberg won’t play more than 150 snaps assuming injuries aren’t super bad. Rookie Cody Lindenberg is a nice depth option, he played well in preseason, has coverage traits, but overall is limited at times by his athleticism. He’s a good option off the bench and ST.
Cornerback: Downgrade
- Additions: Eric Stokes, Darien Porter, Kyu Blu Kelly
- Subtractions: Nate Hobbs, Jakorian Bennett, Jack Jones, Sam Webb
Just wrote three paragraphs about the linebacker position, so can’t imagine how many I’m going to write about the corners. Ok so long story short, the room is bad, BUTTTTT they have Pete Carroll and a bunch of freak athletes so who knows how that is going to turn out. That said, it’s bad, like worse in the NFL bad. Eric Stokes simply can’t stay healthy, but he has flashed at times for the Packers. Stokes allowed a 96.7 QBR last season, did get 2 PBU. Stokes had a great rookie season, allowing a 78.8 QBR and nabbing an interception and nine breakups but that was in 2021 and I was still a college freshman so a lot changes. Stokes struggled in preseason, did have some good plays in camp but overall he’s not more than a 2nd or 3rd CB and the Raiders are relying on him as their starter….. Rookie Darien Porter was a standout at Iowa State, but he’s 24 and played CB for 3 years so there’s that. Porter’s benefit is as an athlete there might genuinely be no one better in the NFL. After struggling in preseason (111.7 QBR allowed in just 7 targets), there’s not a full tank of hope in his magic jump to starting caliber rookie CB in 10 days. The best might be addition Kyu Blu Kelly, who’s played (checks notes) 34 snaps in 2023 and 2024 combined. Kelly did play at a good level in two preseason games, allowing 3 rec, 27 yards, and a 66.4 QBR while also adding 3 pass breakups. Kelly is likely the teams starting NCB, and he might also be the best CB on the roster which is not encouraging. After those three is Darnay Holmes, a journeyman NCB who in his career has logged more than 400 snaps just twice in five seasons. Holmes allowed 27 rec, 204 yards, and a 90.7 QBR in 2024 for the Raiders while also adding 2 PBU. He’s a fine option as a backup NCB but the Raiders may start him with Kelly on the outside and that’s when things get even more confusing. Lastly, we add Decamerion Richardson who returns after a poor?, yea well go with poor, rookie season. Richardson is a phenomenal athlete at 6’2/200 and he posted a 4.31 40 so the athletic traits are there. Richardson allowed 28 rec, 407 yards,, 2 TD, and a 106.0 QBR in his rookie season which spanned a little over 500 snaps. He did post 3 PBU and had a dropped INT also. Richardson tackles well, and in the entire room has the 2nd most snaps since 2022, he did allow a 118.8 QBR in preseason with 3 rec allowed and 43 yards also.
The Raiders lose their two best CBs from 2024. Nate Hobbs, while a NCB, and the price range there is too high for his production and injuries he was a strong cornerback. Hobbs played 554 snaps, allowed a 96.3 QBR, and also added 6 PBU and an INT. Hobbs was a force in the run game, he is coming off a down 2024 season but overall he was strong NCB and provided what the Raiders needed in a consistent body in the slot, despite injures as well. The loss of Jakorian Bennett was a choice, he’s 5’11/190 and doesn’t tackle well but Bennett did play well in coverage. He was fluid, had quick feet and a quick lower half. Bennett was aggressive at the track point, Bennett played the ball well and was fluid. He allowed a 56.3 QBR, just 185 yards, and also logged 9 PBU before missing the season with a torn rotator cuff and labrum. Bennett was a good CB and young. Las Vegas needed consistency and Bennett would’ve provided at minimum that. So there’s Jack Jones, he allowed 10 TD and added 14 PBU. Jones was an aggressive player, he made a ton of plays on the ball and it did work. Jones bit on double moves, and teams essentially just ran double moves at him the entire time. The definition of a boom or bust CB, Jones still played over 800 snaps that the Raiders need to replace. Overall, it’s hard to tell what the Raiders are doing at CB, they’re going full youth and potential which works but the lack of a veteran that has been consistent at the very least is a massive concern. Pete Carroll is well Pete Carroll, he has a knack for developing cornerbacks which gives hope to the position but there’s a lot needing to go right and very little can go wrong.
Safety: Also Confused
- Additions: Jeremy Chinn, Tristin McCollumn, Terrell Edmunds, Lonnie Johnson (IR currently)
- Subtractions: Trevon Moehrig, Marcus Epps, Thomas Harper (Likely to PS)
To start, in no world was Trevon Moehrig worth being paid as the 3rd highest SAF in the NFL, but that doesn’t take away from his impact on the team. Moehrig is 26 and he played 99.9% of the teams snaps last season, as he did in 2023 and 2021. Moehrig contributed 104 tackles, 5 TFL, a sack, 10 PBU, and 2 PBU. He continued to get better each season, and last season was one of the best, if not the best, safeties in the NFL in terms of run defense. Moehrig did struggle in coverage at times allowing a 105.8 QBR and 3 TD, but when tasked with pure zone assignments he allowed a 38.7 QBR and 0 TD compared to his 143.2 QBR and 3 TD in man coverage. Las Vegas also lost Marcus Epps, though he was out majority of the season with an ACL injury regardless. Epps was a formidable veteran, he provided consistency opposite of Moehrig in 2023, and in 2024 was doing the same before injury. The loss is mitigated from the fact, he simply didn’t play much last season. Lastly, 2024 UDFA Thomas Harper didn’t play much during the 2024 season but he did make an impact. The 5’10/195 NCB/SAF hybrid played just 191 snaps but logged 17 tackles, a TFL, 7 stops, 2 PBU, and an INT along with allowing a 41.3 QBR. He contributed where the Raiders needed him too. Harper missed most of camp with an injury, was waived earlier this week, but likely returns to the practice squad.
Las Vegas, obviously had to add to the room. Replacing Moehrig is Jeremy Chinn, a 6’3/230 hybrid SAF/WLB and at just 27 years old is coming off his best season in 2024 where he logged 117 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks, an INT, 5 PBU and a FF. Chinn is a good run defender, he posted 35 stops in 2024 and missed just 8.7% of his tackles, but he’s a step down from Moehrig. In terms of coverage, he’s also a step down. Limited by his frame at times, Chinn doesn’t play a ton of deep safety, he thrives being able to come down in the box and let the team rotate a safety over top of him. Chinn allowed five touchdowns, a 125.8 QBR, and 367 yards last season in this role. He’s never been a coverage specialist, but he gets the job done especially in zone (57.3 QBR) underneath. The Raiders are banking on the fact Chinn returns to a similar system as 2024 with the Dan Quinn/Pete Carroll tree and that he’ll stay healthy after missing 16 games from 2020-2023 (including 6 in 2022 and 5 in 2023). Lonnie Johnson has played 301 snaps in 2022, 2023, and 2024 combined. Johnson was pushing to start for the Raiders in 2025 at safety for the role when Chinn comes into the box, but a fractured leg before preseason means he’s out till at least week 4, if not longer. Johnson doesn’t have a great track record, he’s missed a career 17% of his tackles, and has allowed a 122.5 QBR in his career, mainly at FS so maybe a move to SS improves him. Overall, it remains to be seen how much he’ll impact the roster. Another 6’2+ safety!!!!, Terrell Edmunds joined the Raiders after Johnson’s injury and while cut during roster breakdown could see play time through practice squad elevations. Edmunds played 69 snaps in 2024 and 475 in 2023. He looked decent in both season, but nothing outstanding. Of those mentioned so far, Edmunds is likely the teams best coverage safety outside of Isaiah Pola-Mao. Edmunds has allowed a career 98 QBR, added 6 INT, and 24 PBU while limiting the missed tackles as well. There’s a real world Edmunds plays over 500 snaps in a three safety rotation this season, which elevates the floor. Lastly, the team added Tristin McCollumn this week, and the 6’3/210 safety is highly athletic but struggles. He’s limited in coverage and needs to develop, his tackling has been poor, but he’s athletic and someone for Pete Carroll to try and develop.
Ok, more paragraphs yay. Finally, the Raiders return two safeties. Isaiah Pola-Mao, fresh off a new contract and 985 snaps in 2024 steps in to be the Raiders apparent free safety for now. Pola-Mao was productive in 2024 with 89 tackles, 2 TFL, 5 PBU, and 2 FF. He added 15 stops and a 14.1% missed tackle rate while also allowing 408 yards, 2 TD, and a 132.1 QBR so strides need to happen in his overall coverage. As a run defender, Pola-Mao did make plays but the tackling has to improve. The Raiders clearly like what they have in Pola-Mao inking him to a lucrative deal immediately and he’s likely to play north of 1000 snaps this season again. Chris Smith is 5’10/195 with poor athleticism and 33 career snaps yet the Raiders are keeping him around. Preseason was good for Smith, he did make plays, and the Raiders clearly like him but his impact is way to be seen. Overall, the Raiders did elevate the floor of the DB room with Edmunds adding a veteran presence and Johnson also adding that when he gets back from injury. Overall, much like the rest of the defense, it’s just boom or bust. Pola-Mao needs to take steps up in coverage, Chinn is being tasked with replacing Moehrig (which is going to be tough), and one of Smith/McCollumn/Edmunds needs to slide into the 3rd role and play north of 500 snaps in the third safety set. Moehrig’s loss is going to be felt, he was good in coverage and helped the Raiders allow the 3rd least explosive passing plays last season after the least in 2023.
If you read this long, thank you.
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