The Las Vegas Raiders' 2024 season fell short of expectations, largely due to a subpar quarterback situation and an inability to run the football. However, injuries showed the team's lack of depth and it plagued the Raiders all season.
No position group got hit harder with the injury bug than the defensive line, as Maxx Crosby sat out five games, Christian Wilkins missed 12 and Malcolm Koonce was sidelined the entire year. K'Lavon Chaisson, Tyree Wilson and Charles Snowden filled in to mitigate these losses, but the unit lacked the juice that it had in the starting lineup.
Both Crosby and Koonce are healthy again heading into this season, but last year's failure highlights a potential problem on the Raiders' roster that is flying under the radar, but should not be.
Raiders could use more edge rusher depth in 2025
While the new regime in Las Vegas was smart to extend Crosby and bring back Koonce, the depth and future of the edge rusher room is once again in question ahead of the 2025 season. Outside of Crosby, no proven player at the position is under contract for next year.
Plus, both Crosby and Koonce are coming off relatively serious injuries, and there is no guarantee that either of them will produce like they have in years past. Wilson is still a bit unproven at this point in his career, and he was passed up by Chaisson almost immediately last season.
Undrafted rookie Jah Joyner looks like he could have some potential, and Wilson certainly has the tools to be a great edge rusher, but upside does not win football games, production does. This unit is one injury or underperformance away from being razor-thin again.
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Crosby's ability to play every down has always masked the Raiders' lack of edge rusher depth, but there is no guarantee that he will be able or allowed to do so under coach Pete Carroll. Wilson and Snowden showed some promise last season, but neither has proven they can shoulder a bigger load.
Free agents like Jadeveon Clowney, Carl Lawson and DeMarcus Walker are all a bit older, but they could be great insurance policies for this defensive end group.
If John Spytek and Carroll have not already made a move on this front, perhaps the edge rusher unit looks better than expected. However, it should give fans a bit of pause to run it back with the same exact players after things went south in a hurry last season.