Before training camp, there were some high hopes for the Las Vegas Raiders defense. They spent big in free agency to bolster the linebacker corps, and then they drafted several defensive backs.
Plus, defensive end Maxx Crosby ended up staying with the team after almost getting traded. On paper, this should be the most talented Raiders defense in years. The biggest question mark on the defense is new defensive coordinator Rob Leonard.
He was the team’s defensive line coach for the last three seasons, and new head coach Klint Kubiak decided to promote him. Leonard has never been a defensive coordinator or defensive playcaller at any level.
The Raiders defense didn’t look good in the first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, and the run defense looked particularly pedestrian in joint practice with the Houston Texans. There has been some growing concern that he might not be the man for the job long-term.
One person who wouldn’t agree with that is Super Bowl champion and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive lineman A. Q. Shipley. He went to high school with Leonard and thinks he’s always been a very impressive man.
“Robbie Leonard’s a dog; let me start off with that,” Shipley said on the “Pat McAfee Show.” “This dude, undersized, goes to Washington & Jefferson outside of Pittsburgh … ends up walking on at NC State. Earns a scholarship, becomes a two-year starter, captain, linebacker, the whole nine. He’s worked under Mike Macdonald and Jon Harbaugh with the Ravens. Been with the Giants. Been with the Dolphins. And now he’s made a home out there with the Vegas Raiders. The dude’s a stud.”
Far Too Early to Give Up on Leonard
Multiple things can be true at once. The Raiders’ defense struggling in training camp and preseason is a concern, but that doesn’t mean that Leonard isn’t the right man for the job.
Outside of Maxx Crosby, the defensive line is very unproven. Adam Butler is getting older, Tonka Hemingway is young and unproven, Malcolm Koonce has only had one good season and Kwity Paye isn’t known as a strong pass rusher.
That’s not to mention that the secondary has some question marks due to the youth of the group. Also, Leonard is in his first year calling defensive plays. There are going to be growing pains. What’s going to be important for him is that the defense continues to get better as the season goes along.
Nakobe Dean Thinks Defense is Continuing to Improve
The Raiders defense still has a chance to be a solid unit. Crosby is an All-Pro level player, Eric Stokes is a good starting cornerback and linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker could be the best linebacker duo the team has had in years.
Though there have been some Struggles, Dean is still high on what the Raiders are building on defense.
“We’re getting better every day,” Dean told reporters after practice with the Texans. “We are transitioning to where we want to be with certain calls and certain personnel groupings that’s out there to stop the run. So, we’re getting there.”
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