The Raiders finished 26th in points allowed while going 6-11 last season, so there’s clearly a need to tighten things up on the defensive side of the ball before they hit the field this fall.
Defensive end Maxx Crosby believes that familiarity with the defense will help that effort. Patrick Graham took over as the defensive coordinator in Las Vegas in 2022 and Crosby said that having a year in the system has been a benefit to the unit’s work this offseason.
“Last OTAs, it was a lot,” Crosby said, via Aidan Champion of SI.com. “Obviously, Pat was new. He was installing a bunch of new stuff trying to get everything in before we get to camp. So everything was just like, you’re just learning and trying to just figure everything out on the fly. But now, having another year, being able to help the guys that just got in, it’s going to help them as well. So things are going a lot smoother.”
The Raiders’ plans to improve on defense don’t stop with continuity. They added a number of free agents and six draft picks on that side of the ball, so they’ll be hoping that the smooth sailing continues through the entire calendar.
