Podcast: Training Camp Report #4 Who & What Stood Out On First Day in Pads

HENDERSON, Nev.—The Las Vegas Raiders held the first practice in pads today from the 2025 NFL Training Camp, and it was spirited and exciting.

Our latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast takes you inside the Silver and Black training camp for an insider's perspective on all of what and who stood out today on the first day in pads.

You can watch the entire podcast below:

Pete Carroll pulled off a coup in the NFL when it was nearly sure that the Las Vegas Raiders were going to lose DC Patrick Graham, yet he was able to convince him to stay on his staff.

Graham is a defensive savant and is not liked; his players believe in and love him.

Las Vegas Raiders DC Patrick Graham | Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

Graham spoke to the media here at training camp.

You can read a partial transcript of all he said below.

Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham

Q: Looks like Malcolm Koonce is moving like the Malcolm we know. How happy are you for him? Graham: "I'm excited for him to get a chance to get out there, get better. Glad he's back. His energy both on the field and in the classroom, it's infectious. And the fact that he goes out there and he executes at a high level, it's always encouraging to see that and it's a good example for the other players."

Q: You guys got Germaine Pratt pretty late in the off-season process. How has he done in terms of picking up what you want? What can he bring to the defense? Graham: "He's done a great job, been real diligent. Finding extra time to meet, getting his eyes in the playbook, and getting used to how we do things. Again, he's been playing with a good defense for a long time and he's done a lot of roles when he was at the other place, so he knows football, that's a positive. And I'm just happy to have another weapon out there on the field."

Q: You guys have had a few people rotating in that cornerback since OTAs. What are you seeing just from the competition with that group so far? Graham: "The thing that stands out is that they have a brotherhood I would say. You see them hanging out in the cafeteria, downtime at practice or before practice all working on their craft together. The thing that's encouraging, you see a lot of length out there and a lot of speed. I mean, it's a space game in this league, and the receivers just keep getting better. If LSU stops having receivers maybe we'll have less, I mean, they just have a whole bunch of receivers out there. But we got a good group of fast, long guys. And then tomorrow we'll get to the physicality part in terms of seeing who's going to be able to support the run, see who can get their hands on people in press. So, I'm encouraged."

Q: Along those lines, you guys did make a change at cornerback. Decamerion Richardson is a guy that's been here, kind of got thrown in the fire last year. What about his progress so far? Graham: "For me, the best thing that could have happened, I just love the fact that the room is competitive. There are a lot of good guys in there and it's driving all of them to improve, because you got to be ready to go. There's a lot of good players in that room. Not to single out Cam [Decamerion Richardson], but the thing about Cam, he works really hard. He corrects his mistakes. He has all the tools. He's long, he's fast, he's physical. We'll evaluate that a little bit more tomorrow, but I'm just real pleased with the progress he's made from rookie year to now. "

Q: How important is that to be able to rotate younger guys in and get them another taste of what it looks like maybe to run with the ones or even the twos Graham: "They all got to get their experience out there on the field. The field, when we go out there to practice, it would be funny` if you guys just track the amount of time from the head coach to the coordinators to position coaches, the time they spend on trying to get every minute of practice right, because it's truly the most important thing we do. I love my PowerPoints and the presentations on the playbook and all that stuff like that, a little speech here and there. But none of that stuff really matters. It's all about practice. So being able to rotate those guys, Joe Woods and M-Rob [Marcus Roberston] doing a good job of rotating them, it's priceless. And they need those reps out there. Need those reps."

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