Raiders: Can Patrick Graham’s defense stop the AFC West juggernauts?

The Las Vegas Raiders brought in Patrick Graham to be their new defensive coordinator, but will he have success in the talented AFC West?

Las Vegas Raiders Patrick Graham, in his first year as the Defensive coordinator coming from the New York Giants, will have a tall task in defending the other three AFC West offenses with the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Justin Herbert, and Keenan Allen just to name a few of many superstars on offense.

Graham believes in playing man-to-man coverage to win, and in the AFC West, that will be much harder to do with all the athletes and weapons at disposal. He will have to play multiple schemes mixing in man and zone crucially to try to disguise his pre-snap look to confuse these elite quarterbacks.

Raiders have a real leader in Patrick Graham as DC

While man-to-man has its benefits, like bringing many blitzes looks along with stunts and anything else he wants to bring and rush the QB, succeeding with this philosophy will work but with the proper timing.  Graham comes from the Belichick coaching tree and will lead by being as detailed as possible along with adjusting to how the game is evolving every year.

I believe Patrick Graham has what it takes to slow these high-octane offenses down by being multiple with his looks and constantly giving the QB several looks pre-snap and reacting post-snap accordingly.

He is a great teacher of the game and will have very detailed game plans to slow these offenses down to help win the game. Patrick Graham will bring a different philosophy than Gus BradleyBradeley, which should favor the players on the roster and feature them where they best are suited.

Las Vegas Raiders areas of focus heading into 2022 preseason game No. 2

The Raiders have a few holes still needed to be filled heading into the season and the first preseason game helped bring some clarity to a number of spots.

Raiders are poised for a playoff position with the likes of Davante Adams to join Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller should scare opposing AFC West defense and have the comfort of having Patrick Graham on your sideline should give the offense confidence to take those big shots down the field knowing their defense will back them up.