The Raiders escaped Baltimore with a 26-23 win on Sunday, and after two regular-season games, it has become clear that Patrick Graham’s defense wasn’t a fluke last year.
The Raider defense held two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson to a pedestrian performance on Sunday and what made their effort against the Ravens even more impressive is the fact that it happened with very little depth along their defensive line.
With Malcolm Koonce and Tyree Wilson essentially missing all of the first two games (Koonce has not played, and Wilson has played six snaps), Graham has deployed a defensive strategy that not many defensive coordinators have the personnel to pull off.
With the Raiders having very little depth along their d-line, Graham has gone with the approach of just leaving his linemen on the field.
Here’s what that strategy has looked like in the first two games…
Maxx Crosby has played all 122 defensive snaps.
It’s nothing new for Crosby to be on the field for every play, and the All-Pro defensive end is setting a standard that isn’t being matched by anyone in the league.
Crosby is the only defensive lineman on the Raiders to play every snap this year, but defensive tackle Christian Wilkins isn’t far behind. According to Pro Football Focus, Wilkins has been off the field for only 4.9 percent of the Raiders’ defensive snaps this year.
He has missed six of the Raiders 122 defensive snaps.
This isn’t a new trend for Wilkins, and it’s part of the reason the Raiders were willing to give him a four-year, $110 million contract in the offseason.
Beyond the two superstars, the Raiders have leaned heavily on Adam Butler in the first two games.
Butler has played in 106 of the team’s 122 defensive snaps. He’s on pace to play 901 defensive snaps after playing in 526 a year ago.
The interesting detail about Butler, though, is that his playing time wasn’t particularly affected by the Koonce injury. Wilson was expected to rotate to the defensive interior at times, but Butler’s role probably isn’t going to change a lot when Wilson returns to the lineup.
After Crosby, Wilkins, and Butler, here’s what the snap counts looked like for the Raiders’ defensive line against the Ravens: Janarius Robinson (36 snaps), Charles Snowden (27 snaps), John Jenkins (21 snaps), Nesta Jade Silvera (8 snaps), K’Lavon Chaisson (2 snaps) and Jonah Laulu (2 snaps).
Looking ahead… imagine the Raiders defensive line if Koonce is able to eventually return and be on the field for 40-50 plays per game.
x: @raidersbeat
Zamir White needs to make initial separation moves after he hits the O line.Straight ahead bulldozing is Not going to make it in this league. He better get shifty quick or he’ll see the bench.
It is imperative to get a legit running game going now , before Minchew gets hammered.