When Antonio Pierce took over as the Las Vegas Raiders' interim coach during the 2023 NFL season, one of his first decrees was playing edge rusher Malcolm Koonce more. And the results spoke for themselves, as he recorded 8.0 sacks in the final nine games of the campaign.
Don't even get me started on why he only played a combined 116 defensive snaps in his first two seasons.
But before Koonce could build on that breakout campaign, he tore his ACL a week before the regular season of his contract year. He missed the entire 2024 season, but the Raiders still re-signed him for 2025. He didn't quite look like himself coming off an injury, but he did enough to be re-signed again.
Now headed into the 2026 NFL season, Koonce has a lot to prove to this front office and fanbase. The signing of Kwity Paye and selection of Keyron Crawford in Round 3 during the offseason called into question what kind of role Las Vegas envisioned for Koonce, or how much faith they had in him.
In recent training camp practices, however, Koonce has been showing glimpses of his old self from 2023.
Malcolm Koonce is picking things up again at Raiders training camp
With a cleaner bill of health, Koonce is bound for a bounce-back year. He really started to pick things up at the end of last year, and now, further removed from a major injury, Koonce should continue to regain his previous form, when he legitimately looked like a Pro Bowl pass rusher.
On the first day of padded practice, which is really the first day to evaluate the trenches, Koonce smoked starting right tackle DJ Glaze to record a sack, according to one report. But this wasn't just a flash in the pan, and Koonce isn't just a pass-rusher.
The next day, it was noted that Koonce made some plays against the run as well. He garnered more praise days later for his generally strong play, and another reporter made note of the immense pressure that Koonce generated throughout a separate practice.
Paye was out the following day, and the defensive line didn't miss a beat with Koonce replacing him. As stated by our Marcus Johnson, Koonce was explosive during the practice and gave the offensive tackles problems throughout the session.
Crosby was then out the following day, and Koonce got even more run with the first-team defense and applied pressure from both the three and five techniques. Then, he recorded another coverage sack on Kirk Cousins during Monday's practice.
Is that enough positive reports about Koonce to convince fans that he's returning to his previous form?
If it's not, then it should be. There are tons of reasons to be optimistic about what Koonce can do in a pressure-heavy system led by Rob Leonard, who developed him as his position coach. With Paye sliding around the line, Koonce being a second-stringer on the first depth chart is no big deal.
He should get plenty of opportunities to get after the passer in 2026 and prove that he is the same player that he was during the latter half of the 2023 campaign. Koonce is looking like his vintage self at camp, and he can absolutely translate that to the regular season on a much-improved defense.
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