The Las Vegas Raiders were supposed to have one of the nastiest defensive lines in the league last season, but injuries completely derailed the group before they could ever get going. Fortunately, it seemed like everyone was going to be back healthy and ready to take another stab at it in 2025.
But then Christian Wilkins' injury dragged on, and his release sent shockwaves through the league. Raider Nation started to look upon Jonah Laulu, whom the team claimed off waivers at the beginning of last season, to take Wilkins' place on the defensive interior alongside Adam Butler.
Laulu got tons of praise from the staff and his teammates during training camp, but he struggled to keep that positive momentum in the preseason. Then, Las Vegas traded for Thomas Booker IV, who all but immediately supplanted him in the starting lineup and diverted eyes away from Laulu.
Raiders' Jonah Laulu had major breakout game against Chargers
However, through the first two weeks of the 2025 NFL season, Laulu has been a breakout star. Not only does he lead the Raiders with 3.0 sacks in just two games, but he is tied for the second-most sacks in the NFL, trailing Myles Garrett, Carl Granderson and Harold Landry III, who each have 3.5.
On Monday Night Football in Week 2, in front of his hometown Las Vegas crowd, Laulu had a performance to remember. He had 2.0 sacks of Justin Herbert in the contest, but he also pitched in six total pressures, three more quarterback hits, four total tackles and three tackles for a loss.
This was a marquee performance for the second-year player, and he is starting to get some notoriety again after falling out of favor with the team and fan base just a month ago.
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Maxx Crosby told reporters during his media availability on Wednesday that he has been impressed by Laulu's performance thus far in 2025, but based on how hard he works, Crosby is not surprised.
"He works hard, he's been doing great. He's young, he's got a lot of good tools, and he's just getting better," Crosby said. "No one is surprised he's playing well. He's just gotta keep building up what he started."
Head coach Pete Carroll echoed this sentiment during his Wednesday media availability, as he went on and on about the second-year defensive tackle.
"You know, he has just blossomed. He's just blossomed. He had enough plays on film coming off of last year, like I probably said to you guys, he caught my eye as a potential guy that might really be a factor," Carroll said. "So, I was really excited about him in the offseason, and he did everything right, and he's played well. He's done a nice job, he's been very active, been very consistent with his play, so he's done nothing but positive things."
If Laulu can keep playing at this level, then the Raiders may have an embarrassment of riches on the defensive line. If the young player can find yet another level to tap into under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and defensive line coach Rob Leonard, there may be no limit to what this Las Vegas defense can do.