Rob Leonard’s responsibilities extend this year beyond the defensive line for the Las Vegas Raiders amid his promotion under coach Klint Kubiak as their first-year defensive coordinator. But as their former D-line coach, he has a vested interest and vision for how he wants the unit to play.
Whether or not its his singular focus.
“He wants us to reset the line of scrimmage,” defensive tackle Thomas Booker said Monday morning following the team’s first padded practice.
“Scheme is important. We’ll coach scheme” but “what we’re trying to do is instill a style of play — first and foremost.”
With turnover on the coaching staff and subsequently up and down their roster, the Raiders for the most part maintained continuity across their defensive front. Maxx Crosby is back as a bookend opposite free-agent signee Kwity Paye, working around the group of tackles that mostly manned the middle last year: Booker, Adam Butler, Tonka Hemingway, Jonah Laulu and JJ Pegues with free-agent signee Benito Jones.
Rounding out the training camp attendees are Brandon Cleveland (rookie seventh-round draft pick), Gary Smith III (undrafted rookie) and Treven Ma’ae (undrafted last season). The Raiders rotated tackles last season and figure to reprise that approach this season — just as they’re doing during training camp.
“It’s huge,” Booker said of their rotation, citing the importance of depth because “the NFL, you’re as good as your last guy that you have on the line. Because everybody that’s going to be playing on Sunday is essentially a starter, right? If you’re playing reps in an NFL game, you’re expected to have starter-quality reps. So, depth is super, super important.”
Most of the snaps inside last season went to Laulu (67.9 percent of the defensive snaps), Butler (60.8 percent) and Booker (53.6 percent) with Hemingway (17.3 percent) and Pegues (12.2 percent) providing back-end depth in their rookie seasons. Jones (30 percent) played a rotational role for the Miami Dolphins as a part-time starter.
Reps on the frontline during training camp have been mixed and matched through the first five practices, but Hemingway has been a first-team fixture — suggesting an uptick in usage as a sophomore. He’s been at the center of run stuffs in practice, causing disruption with his feel and technique, also batting down a pass (from Kirk Cousins) at the line of scrimmage.
“He’s just really smooth with his pass rush and even in the run,” Laulu said Friday. “He doesn’t weigh that much, you would think he weighs more than he does just how good and strong his hands are in the run as well as in the pass. Don’t be surprised when you see Tonka out there making plays.”
Beyond the functional purpose it serves for one of football’s most taxing positions, depth is creating competition among the Raiders at training camp. Laulu said seeing fellow defensive tackles be disruptive “is elevating everybody else to want to be their best” in their pursuit for playing time.
Added Laulu: “It’s just great … having so many different guys that are good at different things and being able to ask each other like, ‘OK what are you seeing when you do this,’ or like, ‘How are your hands when you do this?’ and just, ‘What are you thinking?’ And I think just being able to piggyback off one another and our knowledge and what we’re good at is … just great for everybody.”
Competition is intense but friendly because of the cohesion among the group — working together to reset the line of scrimmage.
“We all hold each other accountable,” Booker said. “But we can all tell it’s out of love because there is real camaraderie and we like each other. That’s what keeps a line like us together throughout the season, throughout the ups and downs and the ebbs and flows of playing in the NFL.”
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.
