The Las Vegas Raiders’ defense improved mightily in turnovers last season compared to the 2022-23 season.
After finishing last in the league in turnovers the prior season, Raiders Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham spent last offseason and regular season making turnovers a point of emphasis for the Raiders defense.
Now, the Raiders also have a defensive-minded head coach in Coach Antonio Pierce. He forced eight fumbles, recovered ten fumbles, and registered seven interceptions during his nine-year career as a linebacker in the National Football League. Since taking over the Raiders, Coach Pierce has continued to create a mindset of forcing turnovers and not just pass breakups by the Raiders’ defensive backs.
“Me and Nate [Hobbs] talk about that often going back to my first year here,” Pierce recently said at training camp. “You know, pass breakups [for] like the volleyball players. Good football players intercept the ball and take it the other direction. And we keep talking about making that leap from good to great, making that next step. And that’s the next step for Nate. He understands that it’s a big year for Nate and a big year for us overall. But Nate, each and every year I’ve been here, has just gotten better and better.”
Pierce noted some attributes that make Hobbs a special player. Hobbs’ ability to play well against the pass and the run, as well as play at multiple places in the defensive backfield, make him an integral part of the Raiders’ defense. Adding defensive lineman Christian Wilkins to the Raiders’ defensive line will arguably help Hobbs and the rest of the defense in their efforts to improve in the turnover category for the second season in a row.
Pierce continues to emphasize the importance of the defense creating takeaways.
“I mean, you don’t want to say he’s the best nickel or whatever,” Pierce said. “But he’s a hell of a football player, man. He’s tough. He’s physical. He can fit the run. He can cover, we can put him inside, we can put him outside, which we’ve done. I think you just see the development, and that’s the growth I think a lot of people take for granted in the National Football League from a player in year one to year four, you know, just seeing that development and that confidence. But now he’s like, that’s not cool no more breaking up passes. I need to intercept it to make a difference in the game.”
