As much as Las Vegas Raiders fans are obsessed with the ongoing quarterback battle, how the defense looks in Year 1 under new coordinator Rob Leonard should be a healthy talking point this offseason and throughout the 2026 NFL season as well.
His background is diverse, as Leonard has cut his teeth with several defensive masterminds before taking his current post with the Silver and Black. In terms of the team's play style, that is already shining through at OTAs; this Raiders defense wants to take the ball away.
Being multiple and versatile has also been stressed this offseason, and superstar Maxx Crosby, although he hasn't participated yet, thinks that Leonard is doing a great job. But Leonard's exact scheme and style remain somewhat of a mystery.
It sounds like he is drawing inspiration from the perfect place, though.
Rob Leonard is molding Las Vegas Raiders' like Seahawks' Mike Macdonald's
The Athletic's Sam Warren recently wrote a great column about Leonard and how his group has performed thus far. Warren interwove his observations with what has been said by Leonard and others about the unit, and came to some great conclusions.
One of the chief takeaways is that Leonard is molding his defense in the shape of the Seattle Seahawks'. Yes, those Seattle Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl champions, who are led by arguably the brightest young defensive mind in the sport.
"It’s known that Leonard will also be drawing plenty from his former bosses," Warren explained. "The expectation is that the defense will look similar to what Mike Macdonald employs in Seattle, as Kubiak saw its success first-hand during their Super Bowl run.
"Leonard learned its concepts while with Macdonald in Baltimore in 2022. Macdonald’s scheme features two-high, split-safety coverage shells and a versatile nickel defensive back. The same can be said about Leonard’s defense so far during Raiders OTA practices.
Leonard is smart enough to pull from different leaders, though. He also spent time with Steve Spagnuolo, the Kansas City Chiefs' defensive coordinator who has been a thorn in the Raiders' side, and Brian Flores, who is as innovative a defensive thinker as they come.
"With Spagnuolo and Flores being blitz-heavy coordinators, Leonard’s defense might be more aggressive with extra rushers. Walker and Dean have also proven to be successful blitzers at previous stops, as have defensive backs Taron Johnson and Jeremy Chinn — Las Vegas’s personnel would allow Leonard to run a more attacking scheme. Each of those players will also help Leonard deploy the simulated pressures that have become a staple of Macdonald’s scheme.
Warren, as a former college defensive back himself, then broke down the importance of the nickel position in such a defense. Luckily, as he pointed out, Las Vegas has made some strong investments at the spot this offseason.
"The nickel position has been a key to success for many modern NFL defenses, especially those built around the Macdonald system. The Raiders have multiple options at nickel under Leonard, and the coordinator seems keen on using each one in unique ways.
"Johnson, Chinn and rookie Treydan Stukes have all been lining up at nickel during OTA practices. Each has also seen snaps at deep safety. When one is in the slot, another is generally back deep at safety alongside Isaiah Pola-Mao. And the two defensive backs will often switch between plays, sometimes depending on how the offense lines up.
"Moving alignments is part of the role of nickel defenders — switching positions with another player on the field, less so. However, Johnson, Chinn and Stukes are three of the Raiders’ better defensive backs, so keeping them on the field and maximizing their talents is in the best interest of this unit.
"Interchanging nickels and safeties could also create confusion for the opposing offense."
This all just sounds like music to the ears of Raider Nation. The NFL is a copycat league by nature, and it is difficult to argue that Las Vegas shouldn't model itself after what worked so well last year. But don't just take Warren's word for it; Klint Kubiak essentially confirmed this at media day on Monday.
"Well, I think being around Mike Macdonald last year and seeing his scheme work, and then getting into the interview situation with Robbie and hearing him tell me his vision for the defense and use a lot of those same tenets that were used in Seattle, that was really helpful," Kubiak said. "But he had a command over the direction that he was going that I could see. This guy is someone that knows what he wants, he knows exactly how he's going to practice it, and how he's going to install it, and how he's going to delegate it to the coaches. So I just saw a coach with a vision that knew where he wanted to go and implement a style of defense that we were going to stop the run, that we want to limit explosive plays, and we want to take the ball away. ... I've seen that style do it in Seattle, and that's the style I want to bring here."
Kubiak wanted to bring a Macdonald-style defense to Las Vegas. It's a good thing, then, that the Raiders had a Macdonald protégé already on staff. The Silver and Black may actually have an exciting and modern defense that is difficult to get around or through, at long last.
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