The Las Vegas Raiders were excited about versatile defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. when they signed him in free agency. He fits the mold of a Pete Carroll player in the secondary, as he is long, athletic and has some speed to him.
Unfortunately, a broken leg before the preseason caused him to miss the first eight games of the 2025 NFL season. The Raiders tried to replace him with Chris Smith II, Tristin McCollum and Terrell Edmunds, but to no avail.
Finally, Johnson returned to the lineup in Week 10 against the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football. Although Las Vegas failed to come away with a win, the defense had arguably its best showing of the year, and Johnson's presence is seemingly changing everything.
Lonnie Johnson Jr. has changed the outlook of the Raiders' defense
Johnson's return meant that defensive coordinator Patrick Graham had another chess piece to move around in the secondary. This would allow both Isaiah Pola-Mao and Jeremy Chinn to play in the box and closer to the line of scrimmage, where they both thrive.
Pola-Mao, in particular, has struggled this season as more of a true free safety. But head coach Pete Carroll told reporters during his media availability on Monday that the team had been preparing for Johnson's return, so they preemptively made some changes.
"You've seen the last two weeks, there's been a little bit of a shift because we're heading towards Lonnie coming back," Carroll said.
This shift was moving the Raiders to a big nickel personnel grouping, where Chinn played in the slot and Pola-Mao almost functioned as an outside linebacker at times. When asked about this personnel grouping and what he liked about it before his debut, Johnson spoke about the team's flexibility.
"Oh man, that we all interchangeable. You know, me, Chinn, (Pola-Mao), even Tristin. We all can just rotate around, and (the offense is) not really (going to) know," Johnson said. "It's easy just to move around like that, and the defense can just fluctuate the way it's supposed to."
That certainly came to fruition in Week 10, as Johnson played 36 defensive snaps, primarily as a free safety, but also as a slot corner, a strong safety and an outside linebacker. Chinn played primarily in the slot, but also extensively on the defensive line, as well as in the box and at free safety.
Pola-Mao also played quite a bit at free safety, but he also rotated into the box as a linebacker, a slot corner, and on one occasion, as an edge rusher. This kind of versatility will confuse opposing offenses and give them fits, as Las Vegas gave Denver on Thursday.
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The Raiders only gave up 10 points to the AFC West-leading Broncos in the primetime matchup, and they had nine drives where they did not relinquish a first down to their divisional foe. Outside of one 43-yard gain, Las Vegas did not give up another explosive play either.
Johnson recorded just 3 tackles in the contest, but he had several big plays and a touchdown-saving tackle. He was also stout in coverage, as he gave up just one catch for 2 yards. Carroll talked about Johnson's performance after the game.
"He has a lot of confidence, and he brings a lot of confidence ... We trust the heck out of him. We were really excited about his role, as he would fit into the rest of the fellas when we started this thing off. So, he's excited about showing it, and we're excited about seeing it," Carroll said. "He's just getting started. I mean, this won't be his best game. He's going to improve as he goes, gains his confidence, and all that. ... He had a couple couple nice tackles in the game. He's a very well-versed football player and has a lot of variety to the things he adds."
If the Las Vegas defense continues to perform at the level that it did on Thursday, then this Raiders team actually has a chance to win a few games. At the very least, they should at least be able to keep things a lot closer.
As for Johnson, when he spoke to the media last week, he talked about his goals when returning to the lineup. After one game, it is safe to say that he is well on his way to achieving them.
"It's time. It's time to just go out there and prove to this organization that I want to be here, man. Just let them know that I want to be here past the season," Johnson said. "I'm tired of moving around, tired of going from team to team. Hopefully they see me the way I see them, and just trying to make something happen here long term and continue to go out there and just make plays."