Las Vegas Raiders DE Malcolm Koonce Talks Career Season

Las Vegas Raiders DE Malcolm Koonce comes off his best season yet.

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce bloomed into a pleasant surprise for the Silver and Black last season, as he became a solid complemetary asset to All-Pro edge rusher Maxx Crosby.

Koonce, who is already going into his fourth NFL season, turned in a career campaign last season, totaling 43 combined tackles, nine for loss, 17 quarterback hits, three forced fumbles and eight sacks while starting in every game.

Koonce discussed his 2023 season with Eddie Paskal of Raiders.com on a recent episode of "Upon Further Review."

"I pretty much just think what worked last year was just trusting myself and just taking it one step at a time, one game at a time, not like looking big picture or caring about this or that. So, just staying to myself."

Koonce's eight sacks were the second-most on the team, trailing only Crosby, who tallied a career-best of his own, 14.5.

"[At] the beginning of the year, I kind of had a whole bunch of missed sacks, so I kind of got in the mindset of just like, 'Don't think about it, just rush' to try to play as good as I can," Koonce said. "So then, when the sacks finally started to come, I kind of was already in the habit of just not even focusing on it, so as the stats kind of stacked up and stuff like that, I didn't realize until after the season like, 'Oh, I actually did something really good.'"

Koonce is at the point in the offseason where he can reflect on his career campaign while also preparing for the road ahead.

"I think right now is a big process for me of really analyzing the things I did well last season and the things that I need to work on, things that I struggled with.

This coming season is going to be a huge one for Koonce, who will now have much higher expectations placed upon himself.

Raider Nation should be excited for what is to come for the rising edge rusher, who is going to be instrumental for the Raiders' dominant defensive line.

You can watch Koonce's entire interview on "Upon Further Review" here.

The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently have the No. 13 overall pick.

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