The Las Vegas Raiders have been far too reliant on Maxx Crosby for far too long. And now that the team is putting him on a pitch count, it is all the more vital that others around him step up and help get after the quarterback. In Week 1, that player was Kwity Paye. In Week 2, it was Malcolm Koonce.
Koonce was once thought to be the answer opposite Crosby, but injuries and inconsistent play have derailed his career a bit. Finally, though, it appears that Koonce is getting back on track and becoming a weekly threat rushing the passer. On Sunday, he finally got home and showed real signs of life.
If Koonce can continue to play the way he did, then the Raiders' defense can reach another level under Rob Leonard. But looking at the film, the 28-year-old pass rusher still has plenty to fix and improve upon as the 2026 NFL season drags on if he and Las Vegas want to go even higher.
Malcolm Koonce's good showing vs. Chargers has Raiders fans seeing defense's full capability
From a statistical standpoint, Koonce had a great showing against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2. He notched three tackles, two of them solo, and 1.5 sacks in 28 defensive snaps. Koonce also forced a fumble, had three stops and two pressures to go with a 10.0% sack rate. Pretty impressive.
Not to mention, he had a quicker get-off than last week, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, as he burst off the line of scrimmage in 0.77 seconds, down from 0.81 in Week 1. That was tied with Crosby for the 11th-best mark in the league in Week 2.
All of this serves as evidence that Koonce is starting to feel and look like his old, pre-injury self again. His bend looked great around the edge, and he got off blocks well and set the edge in the run game on outside zone plays. Koonce also mixed up two- and three-point stances and succeeded with both.
Paramount was the fact that Koonce displayed great conditioning once again against the Chargers, as he started to beat Rashawn Slater more and get home in the second half. Yes, he's fresher as more of a rotational pass rusher, but Koonce clearly shined at the end of the game, as he did in Week 1.
Las Vegas having droves of effective pass rushers will only take this defense to a higher level, as the more effective and different looks it can give opposing offensive lines, the better. And the more consistent the pass rush is, the easier the secondary's job will be.
In the past, it felt like teams could simply run away from Crosby, and the secondary paid the price of nobody getting home. In the early going, the Raiders' defense has put unbelievable pressure on QBs, and the defensive backfield has picked off three passes and broken up a handful more as a result.
This is the complementary football that the Silver and Black have been missing, and Koonce stepping up and playing well alongside Kwity Paye to supplement Crosby is a big part of that. But he still needs to clean some things up for this dream situation to actually develop.
Raiders' Malcolm Koonce must take another step after impressive outing vs. Chargers
Let's be clear about one thing first: Rashawn Slater is a way more difficult left tackle to have success against than Patrick Paul was for the Miami Dolphins. But Koonce still needs to get home quicker versus the best of the best if the Raiders' pass rush wants to reach the highest heights.
Last week, Koonce had one quick pressure, meaning he got home in 2.5 seconds or less. In Week 2, he had zero. His time to sack was 4.92 seconds, which was the 15th-slowest among defensive linemen this past week, which isn't necessarily ideal. Getting home quickly is important.
To be fair, Koonce's half-sack with Nakobe Dean came on a play-action rep from the Chargers in which he had to stay put and make sure that Los Angeles didn't leak out a screen over his head. Plus, he faced a surprisingly large number of chips from opposing tight ends. That all factors in.
But more pivotally, he got knocked off balance a handful of times by Slater's initial punch, and Koonce was not always quick enough getting to his counters. He had a tough time going speed-to-power against Slater as well, and he got blocked out of a few run plays.
Obviously, Koonce still had a good showing; mistakes are going to happen in a 28-snap sample size. But for as well as Koonce played, and for how much that can take the defense to another level, Koonce himself has another level to get to before that can happen on a consistent basis.
It was a good start, but more is required.
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