The Las Vegas Raiders struck gold with Maxx Crosby in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The team's only issue with Crosby through six seasons has been finding him a suitable running mate.
This is not easy, especially when the franchise routinely misses on early draft picks and has to go outside of the organization for solutions. Players like Tyree Wilson have a lot to prove in 2025 after being drafted seventh overall by the team in 2023.
Wilson did quietly improve last year as a run defender, and he seems plenty motivated to fully break through this season. But until he shows it, and what he's doing shows up in his sack totals, he's a question mark without the life raft of anyone who was involved in drafting him still being around.
Raiders' make-or-break player for 2025 really couldn't be more obvious
Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus recently named each NFL team's make-or-break player for 2025. There are multiple options for the Raiders within that premise, but Wasserman went with edge rusher Malcolm Koonce, who missed the entire 2024 season with a torn ACL.
"The Raiders have long been looking for an effective pass rush partner for Maxx Crosby. Down the stretch of the 2023 season, it looked like they may have found that player in Malcolm Koonce," Wasserman wrote. "From Weeks 10 through 18, he earned an outstanding 84.9 PFF pass-rush grade. Unfortunately, he didn’t play a single snap in 2024 due to injury, but he signed a new one-year contract with the hope of regaining that level of play in 2025. If he does, the Raiders could have a potentially lethal pass rush."
After barely playing over his first two seasons, Koonce played a lot more in 2023 when Antonio Pierce took over as the interim head coach. As Wasserman noted, he emerged late that season with all 8.0 of his sacks coming after Week 9. Sack totals can be deceiving, but his PFF pass-rushing grade from Week 10 to 18 showed how effective he was at getting after the quarterback.
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Koonce was a common pick to be a breakout candidate at this time last year, but again, his 2024 campaign was derailed due to injury. While he missed what was the final year of his rookie contract, he made it clear that returning to the Raiders was his top priority this offseason.
Now, he is healthy and will be looking to prove he is worthy of a multi-year deal next March. Not only is Koonce an obvious make-or-break player for the Raiders this year, but it's also a make-or-break season for him in what is a contract year.
A big 2025 season would also bring plenty of other free agent suitors. However, if Koonce proves to be the much-needed pass rush presence opposite Crosby for the Raiders, they'll presumably be willing to pony up to keep him.