Despite unexpected personnel turnover, Rob Leonard and the Raiders defensive line have embraced the challenge

Jan 03, 2025 at 03:10 PM

Carter Owen

Digital Content Associate

Entering the 2024 season, many believed the Raiders were positioned to have one of the team's better defensive line rooms in recent history.

Then the injury bug hit and suddenly, the anticipated group that spent the offseason and training camp together was no longer intact.

Malcolm Koonce suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice just days before the season opener. Christian Wilkins sustained a season-ending foot injury in Week 5. And after battling a nagging ankle injury for much of the year, Maxx Crosby was placed on injured reserve after playing in only 12 games.

Despite the unexpected turnover, the Raiders' defensive line has continued to produce. Since Week 13, the Silver and Black are tied for fourth in the NFL with 17 sacks. They also rank fourth in opponent passer rating.

"My main thing is always meet people where they're at," defensive line coach Rob Leonard said. "Where are you at in your progression as a player, even though the standard in our room doesn't change. When the culture in the room is right, which it is, I firmly believe that you can take anybody and they'll fill in. It starts at the top. When you have 98 and 94, and they go about their business a certain way, like, look at them. They set the standard. I have old tape of them, even if they're not practicing."

That standard is something Leonard and the defensive linemen have worked to establish and uphold long before the season started.

"[Leonard] created the culture in the offseason, in OTAs," Tyree Wilson said. "Just be relentless in pursuit. It can never fall off no matter who's in there. No matter who comes in or who's in the game, he's always going to hold them to the same standard as everybody."

In order to uphold that level of play, there has to be a healthy mix of both praise and accountability.

"Showing the highlights of the standard, showing not the standard," Leonard said how he runs position meetings. "I keep a library of it. So, if I have to go back, I don't have to go far. I'm like, I ain't changing. This is what it's supposed to be. I'll show the same damn clips every time and if you want to be on the tape, then make a play to be on the tape.

"I'm very transparent in my room. … There's no bull–, me included. So, if I screw up, I'm telling them that's on me. If it's on them, my job is to make things black and white. That's what I wanted as a player. I always think I coach like I would have wanted to be coached."

With Koonce out for the year, the Raiders sought help from former Jaguars' first-round pick K'Lavon Chaisson. He joined the Raiders practice squad ahead of the team's Week 2 win over Baltimore and by Week 5 – after two gameday elevations – was signed to the active roster.

"When K'Lavon got here, just talking about, like, what do you really want to be?" Leonard said. "I think players fight this image of who they think they want to be. They've got to accept where they're at, and K'Lavon did that early."

"Watching his progression, it's very similar to what Malcolm's has been," he added. "I used a lot of Malcolm's tape from last year about how we built him up, let him fail, let him do it again, let him fail, let him do it again, and then things start to click."

Sure enough, it has clicked for Chaisson. He has set career highs in tackles (31) and tackles for loss (7) this season, and has five sacks as a Raider after recording five sacks over the first 57 games of his career.

"[It's been] exceptional," Chaisson said of his time learning from Leonard. "I think it was needed for the trajectory of my career, obviously for the success I'm having here. I'm really appreciative and super thankful that I got a chance to work with him."

Whether it's Chaisson, Zach Carter, Jonah Laulu or any of the other newcomers in the room, the splash plays fans see on gameday are a product of a lot more than just practice and walkthroughs.

"I told these young dudes, if you work, I can help you," Leonard said. "I'm talking about outside of practice, pre-practice, post-practice, extra film, all that stuff where I can get one-on-one time, hands on. You get so much done on those things. I'll do whatever it takes, meet with you outside the facility, text you clips, whatever it may be. You're just always building their confidence, showing them where they're at as a player and where you're trying to get them."

As the younger players come along, they also lean on veterans like John Jenkins and Adam Butler to hold the group accountable.

"I came in the league with a lot of old heads," Jenkins said. "They all showed me how to establish a culture. It's a testament to Robbie and Dre [Andre Carter] that they allow us to do that in our room and that's why we love playing with one another. You can't even tell who's a new guy or who's the older guy in our room because we all hold each other accountable and we all want to play hard for one another no matter what the situation is in that moment."

Between Thursday night D-line dinners or additional meetings outside of what's on their schedule, the group is always looking for ways to bond and continue to play at a high level.

Entering the team's final game of the year, a home contest against the Chargers, Leonard is appreciative of their ability to "hold the standard through the storm."

"I'm fueled by seeing players get better and that light bulb going off," he said. "That's what it's about. That is coaching. People forget that you're graded on how your players perform. Not everybody's going to be an All-Pro, but you're looking for improvement at all times from everybody and that takes a lot. That's what I'm most proud of. No matter how many wrenches have been thrown in our room … we've been able to put a product out there that goes out and performs and we're still chasing that level of perfection."