Las Vegas Raiders: 3 keys for the defense to improve and thrive in 2023

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3.) Raiders Defensive Line Needs To Step Up And Help Star Defensive End Maxx Crosby.

The whole defensive line needs to step up and help star defensive end Maxx Crosby, but Chandler Jones is someone I will point out in particular. Jones is older now at 33, so I’m not saying he has to explode with 15 sacks.

However, I know he still has gas left in the tank, and with an overall disappointing 2022 season, I’d love for him to have a massive bounce-back year in 2023. Jones weighed around 265-270 in 2022, but in April during OTA’s, Jones looked much slimmer.

When asked why, he said he “Shed some weight, wanted to play fast, and already feels faster”. He also said he is now currently at around 250 but could cut down to 240-245 by the time the regular season begins in September.

Some other names that I believe could step up and help improve the defense this season are veteran defensive tackles’ Jerry Tillery, Bilal Nichols and like I stated above, the rookie defensive end Tyree Wilson. The Raiders could also have some additional surprise gems on their defensive depth chart too, such as rookies’ Adam Plant Jr and Byron Young.

Those two will definitely be names to watch for on the Raiders defense this Fall.

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