Raiders' Defensive Line Will Depend Heavily on Its Veterans

The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to field one of, if not the best, defensive line in the National Football League this season.

While the defense proved to be a talented bunch last season, it was widely overlooked nationally, as was the Raiders' defense as a whole. General Manager Tom Telesco was hired earlier this offseason and decided to add former Miami Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins to the fold, giving the Raiders a formidable defensive line.

Raiders defensive line coach Rob Leonard believes having veteran defensive linemen like Wilkins and Maxx Crosby makes his job much more manageable. Leonard said having such respected veterans allows him to focus on teaching the proper techniques and helping devise an effective game plan for the unit.

"Tremendously, tremendously. We have a pretty transparent room, so when I'm coaching something, there's little details -- my job is to set the standard for how we do things, how we play a base, how we play a reach, how we play scoop, how we rush the passer with four, how we rush five. Black and white is my job," Leonard said. "This is how we do it.

“Their sauce, details within that are everything. They understand how to do things and then what I call change ups off of it. Like the standard way to middle push, for example. There's a lot of details that go within that they always touch on, stuff you hear, calls that the offensive line makes, stances, tips, and that's all stuff that can't be coached. You've got to play the game to understand those types of things. So, like tremendously."

The Raiders enter a season expecting that their defense will lead the team. This is the first time in many years that this has been expected of the Raiders defense. While they have the talent and the coaching staff to help make that happen, it will be up to veterans such as Wilkins and Crosby to also make that happen.

They will undoubtedly be the players the Raiders defensive line depends on the most moving forward.

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