HENDERSON, Nev. — There will be a lot of talk about the Las Vegas Raiders’ quarterback battle this summer. And, let’s face it, it won’t be very inspiring. But there is no question that if the Raiders reach the playoffs for just the third time in 22 years, it will be because of their defense.
In that vein, Tuesday, the first day of the team’s mandatory three-day minicamp, was a success. On several occasions, Maxx Crosby disrupted a play and then, immediately after, so would Christian Wilkins. The Raiders gave the free agent defensive tackle $85 million guaranteed to wreak havoc inside while Crosby blazes a furious path around the end.
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The expectations are high given that the Raiders return nine starters from a defense that allowed only 19.5 points per game last season, ninth best in the NFL. And that number shrank to 16.0 points per game if you look at the nine games under interim (and now full-time) coach Antonio Pierce.
It’s Year 3 in defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s system, and the players have come out blazing.
“We’re starting very fast,” cornerback Nate Hobbs said. “The communication is different, the playing speed is different and the mental level is different. … It’s very fun.”
Hobbs, cornerback Jack Jones and defensive end Malcolm Koonce made notable leaps last year, and their jobs are easier now that the Raiders have two of the very best linemen in the league in Crosby and Wilkins.
“We’re flying around,” Crosby said. “Christian works his ass off, and I haven’t had a guy that works like that since Yannick (Ngakoue). Yannick was constantly trying to compete with me and go at it, and we were competing at everything. Christian kind of reminds me of him in that way.
“It’s been a hell of a start so far. We have a lot of work to do, but we both love football and that’s all that matters.”
🔴 🎥 Live: CB Nate Hobbs, DE Maxx Crosby and WR Jakobi Meyers address the media following minicamp from the Intermountain Health Performance Center.
https://t.co/6xDxOvT7li— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) June 11, 2024
The two new starters on defense are Wilkins and whoever replaces Amik Robertson at outside corner, likely Brandon Facyson, Jakorian Bennett or a veteran on the free-agent market.
“We definitely lost a star,” Hobbs said of Robertson. “People don’t give him enough credit. Whether it’s at corner or at the nickel, he makes his presence felt. He has a different kind of energy and a different kind of swag. The Lions (who signed him in free agency) got a steal, if you ask me.”
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Pierce has praised the offseason approach of second-year player Bennett, while Hobbs thinks people are sleeping on Facyson, who missed 14 games in 2023 with a shin injury. The veteran started nine games for the Raiders in 2021 before leaving for the Colts in 2022.
“People forget how he started the last half of the season (in 2021) and went man for man with every top-ranked receiver and shut them down essentially,” Hobbs said. “Once he gets in his bag, he is hard to stop. He is just a physical specimen. Great dude, too. He brings a lot of positivity.”
It’s hard not to be positive about the Raiders defense right now. But pace yourself. It’s only June.
“You can’t get too caught up in the noise and the hype and things like that,” Crosby said. “We’ve been a preseason Super Bowl contender and also picked to lose every game, so all that s— doesn’t matter. We just have to be ourselves and focus on what’s most important, and that’s the work and the process.”
Practice notes
• Neither Aidan O’Connell nor Gardner Minshew had a good day at practice, though O’Connell was the more accurate of the two. Teammates love O’Connell’s improved swagger and consider him one of the leaders, while Minshew is still getting his feet wet with his new team.
Minshew has more scrambling ability and likes to make plays off-script, so the practice setting may favor O’Connell’s plant-and-rip-it style. It’s why we may not see one of them truly take hold of the starting job until the preseason games.
“Aidan has come a long way,” Crosby said. “(We’re) seeing his maturity, and he’s starting to talk back. It’s awesome to see. And Gardner has played in plenty of big games. He’s always been the underdog … you see him walking down the street, you wouldn’t even know that he’s a football player. But when he laces it up on Sundays, you can see what he can do.
“Those guys are going to battle it out, and the best guy is going to win.”
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• Rookie running back Dylan Laube had a good first day and was even on the field for some first-team passing downs. His wiggle and pass-catching skills were on display as he tries to carve out a role behind starter Zamir White and alongside backups Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abdullah.
• Veteran receiver Davante Adams, who didn’t attend some of the Raiders’ earlier voluntary workouts, caught everything thrown his way.
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But so did unknown free agent Alex Bachman, including a leaping catch in traffic downfield. Bachman, a 28-year-old Wake Forest product, has spent time on the practice squads of the Rams, Giants and Texans over the last five years.
Former Chargers receiver Jalen Guyton also had a leaping catch in the back of the end zone. Don’t discount his ties with new Raiders general manager Tom Telesco.
• It looks like guard Dylan Parham’s move to the right side is happening, partially to help out young right tackle Thayer Munford. With rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson slowly working his way back from an undisclosed injury, veteran Cody Whitehair took first-team reps at left guard. Former Saint Andrus Peet was at left tackle, with Kolton Miller still on the mend from offseason shoulder surgery. Miller was on the side working with trainers, along with DT Matthew Butler and LB Darien Butler.
Second-year receiver Tre Tucker was handling punt-return duties, as DeAndre Carter was not re-signed. The kick-return job seems wide open as the Raiders get used to the new rules.
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(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
