Raiders DC Patrick Graham Deserves Respect

The Las Vegas Raiders entered this past season simply hoping their defense would marginally improve from the season prior when they ranked near the bottom of the league in many statistical categories. The Raiders added pieces to their defense last offseason, expecting that the defense would slowly develop as the offense continued to lead the way.

Last season, however, went completely different than most expected at the start. From early on in the season, the Raiders defense, led by Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham, grew from week to week until they became the leading unit of the team. 

Graham’s defense's growth could be seen in training camp well before the season started. The Raiders’ starting defense routinely made plays against the Raiders' starting offense and in joint practices against opposing teams’ starting offensive players. But that was early in the season, and the defensive side of the ball usually has earlier success than the offense. 

The Raiders defense, however, continued on that same trajectory as the season began. While the Raiders’ offense struggled seemingly weekly, their defense routinely kept them in games and even won a few games. Graham took a defense filled with players the average fan couldn’t name and helped turn some of them into potentially household names. 

Graham must be acknowledged for his ability to develop and extract the most out of the players he was given and for making the best out of a situation that often was unfavorable to him and the defense. 

In football, things rarely always go right. For Graham, the Raiders’ defense, that was especially the case this past season. This offseason, the Raiders have already added Christian Wilkins to their defense, immediately giving them talent on the interior defensive line they haven’t had in some time and a household name that could likely garner more household names joining the Raiders in the future. 

Graham spent last season quietly leading the Raiders defense. He found schemes and lineups that worked well for the Raiders. He put players in position to win and allowed some of the positions young, talented players who had been played out of position or not given a chance at all the opportunity to prove themselves, and most of them responded well. 

Keeping Patrick Graham on their staff for at least Coach Antonio Pierce’s first entire season at the helm was nearly as crucial as keeping Pierce. After Graham's masterful job this past season, it’s time to give him his accolades. He now has the opportunity to register a second consecutive successful season. Doing so would make him one of the best defensive coordinators in the league and, indeed, have him in line for a head coaching position elsewhere next season.

Graham was a finalist and nearly landed the head coaching job of the Seattle Seahawks. Their GM, John Schneider, praised Grham to our own Las Vegas Raiders beat writer Hondo S. Carpenter, Sr., a conversation you can watch WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.

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