Raiders' Malcolm Koonce on Second-Half Emergence

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce broke out in the second half of the 2023 season.

The Las Vegas Raiders may have found their star edge rusher opposite Maxx Crosby. 

Raiders third-year defensive end Malcolm Koonce broke out in a big way in 2023. He finished the season with 43 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, 17 quarterback hits, three forced fumbles, and eight sacks, all career-highs. 

According to Pro Football Focus, Koonce and Crosby generated 146 pressures, which led the NFL among all pass-rushing duos. 

Koonce always had the physical tools to succeed but had not yet put everything together. It started to come together in the second half of the 2023 season, and he may have solidified himself as a cornerstone off the edge for the Raiders. 

Koonce discussed what worked for him in the second half of the season and how he and Crosby have pushed each other to improve when he joined Crosby on the latest episode of his podcast, "The Rush with Maxx Crosby."

“Everybody in that room just wants to play as good as they possibly can," Koonce said. “Even if it’s like one one-on-one rep or one team rep, we attack everything like it’s a game rep. If I f--- up something during the game or if I have a one-on-one rep and Maxx is behind me, right after that rep, I’m coming back and asking Maxx, ‘What do you think I did wrong there? How do you think that looked?’ or during my games, how many steps I should take or how this should look, just little s--- like that.

“No matter what we’re doing, it’s still that kind of intention and that attention to detail about how this would look during a game.”

Koonce and his defensive line treat practice reps like they are playing in a game, so they do not have to ratchet up the intensity when they are actually in that game situation. 

Crosby explained that Koonce was rushing well in the first half of the season but was not finishing sacks. He asked Koonce what helped him in the second half of the season as he finally got to the quarterback. 

“I think you told me I was rushing well,” Koonce said to Crosby. “I was like, ‘It’s getting super frustrating because I’m not getting home at all.’ You were like, “I feel you, you just have to keep on going, keep on hammering at it, it’s going to work out.’ So, that’s just how I took it -- keep my head down, pin my ears back, and just keep on rushing, and then wherever the chips fall, they fall.”

Click here to watch the entire podcast episode with Koonce, Crosby, and more Raiders defensive linemen.

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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