Leonard, Raiders Trusting the Process Heading into Mandatory Minicamp

Although they return many of the same pieces roster-wise, the Las Vegas Raiders will look like a completely different team when they take the field in 2026. The Raiders have made wholesale changes across the board this offseason, most notably to their defense.

Las Vegas' offseason moves were wide-ranging and addressed several of their most pressing issues. As bad as their offense was last season, their defense needed significantly more attention based on their offseason moves. The unit was addressed more thoroughly than the offense, and rightfully so.

Rob Leonard's Process

Like all of their moves this offseason, the changes the Raiders made on defense started from the top down. Las Vegas addressed its vacant defensive coordinator position by promoting Rob Leonard from defensive line coach. Then, Las Vegas went to work on the roster, adding talent left and right.

The roster moves they made were notable, but none were as important as Leonard's promotion. Essentially, all of the Raiders' defensive additions after promoting Leonard were directly or indirectly affected by Leonard's rise to defensive coordinator. He recently gave insight into that rise.

“It was - as you learn Klint, he didn't say much, he just kind of let me let it rip and asked a few questions, and I just went in from like literally what I call personnel season in the offseason to OTAs, to training camp, to the season of how I would do it, and Spy [John Spytek] was in there, and it wasn't much conversation,” Leonard said.

“I just kind of went through the interview, and he was taking notes, and I mean he asked some questions some really good ones I can't recall off the top of my head, but we were in there for quite a while."

Offseason Progress

An interesting part of the Raiders' offseason will be not only the number of additions they made to the roster and how those moves will work out, but also the fact that they are trying to put all those moving parts together at the same time. That in itself is a challenge.

Along with the slew of roster moves and coaching changes, the Raiders are also implementing new schemes on both sides of the ball. This is another significant factor in their offseason development. Leonard explained where Las Vegas is in that part of the process.

“You rely on conceptually the concepts that have started to build here, things you like, things that you trust, things that you know very well. Then you understand why you would call that, you understand the weaknesses of how that would be attacked, and you have the confidence to install it to all 11 guys,” Leonard said.

“So, you know all the stops I've been at and picking and choosing and making sure it fits all together, especially from a terminology standpoint. And the coaches are the first litmus test for that, like if they can get it, we can coach it. It's one thing to understand it in the meeting, but can we actually coach this and get it executed?"

As the Raiders continue to progress through their offseason workouts, every detail will be critical in ensuring the offseason is a success on the field, as much as it was off the field. There have been few things that have gone Las Vegas' way lately. This offseason was one of them.

However, this offseason has only been a success so far. That will be tested once the regular season starts. If the Raiders can translate their offseason roster moves to on-field success in the regular season, that will confirm how productive this offseason was.

Translating their off-field success onto the field will be one of Klint Kubiak and company's biggest goals in the 2026 regular season. The Raiders have a long way to go, but for 2026, the bar is low. After years of taking the field lacking the necessary talent, especially on defense, the Raiders fixed that.

Las Vegas' front office spent the money and spent it wisely. The Raiders entered the offseason with more resources than any other team in the league and used them to quickly revamp their coaching staff and roster. Raiders general manager John Spytek and the front office did their job.

That job is multifaceted and will be judged in many ways. Part of the job was to upgrade the talent on the roster and the coaching staff to help the team get the most out of them. Time will tell how those moves work out. Las Vegas' coaching staff and front office are banking on those moves working.

Leonard was the safest bet for the Raiders as defensive coordinator, but collectively, Las Vegas' front office invested more in its defense than in its offense. The Raiders hope Leonard's expertise, combined with their offseason additions, will help expedite what will be a gradual rebuild in Las Vegas.

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