Previously, an article was published outlining what to really expect from the Rob Leonard defense, over the next week or two, I’m going to outline a few specific concepts that I believe Leonard will run, and thus what to expect from these units. The first of these, is the 5-1-5 defense, which at it’s core is a 3-4 defense with some core adaptations. The defense originally was developed by Wink Martindale, and then adopted heavily by Brian Flores, before both Mike MacDonald & Jesse Minter adopted the unit.
If you didn’t see the trend, Raiders DC Rob Leonard has worked under MacDonald & Flores, while also working for Patrick Graham who dabbled with the 5-1-5 defense, but lacked the personnel to do so.
* If you want a quick prediction what I think the defense looks like, scroll to the bottom *
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The core of the defense is to build the defense around a hybrid front that can work against the run & the pass, with core of the unit surrounding hybrid DE/DT’s on the interior defensive line and hybrid DE/OLB types on EDGE. Additionally, the defense has some core principles which are largely in line with what Raiders DC Rob Leonard wants to run which are aggression, attack, pursuit, and communication. The defense can often be classified as a 3-4 defense, largely because of the way the EDGE & LB are positioned, though a core part of the linebackers are often their existence as a box safety. An additional core part of this defense comes at linebacker, with run defense linebackers, who can also provide production in the pass rush department. As for the secondary, the scheme lives off versatile defenders in the secondary, and a bandit (which I touch on later).
Below is a standard picture, via “That Franchise Guy” on YouTube showing the Vikings iteration of the 5-1-5 look:
The Vikings traditionally run the defense with 3 safeties, as Josh Metellus plays their “bandit safety” role, and while the Raiders don’t have an identical player to Metellus there’s a few players on the roster with those capabilities to play a nickel defender, slot corner, free safety, and box linebacker role. The defense lives in a zone where at it’s core 4 defensive backs are on the field, though most often it’s 5 with one charted as an inside linebacker which is something I’d expect to see a bit of this season for the Raiders. Unlike the Vikings, the Raiders main defense will not be the 5-1-3 “penny” defense, largely with their backend personnel and the Raiders having two good linebackers in Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean who signed large contracts this off-season. Despite that, it’s likely a unit that will be ran heavily this year, and one if done well can see a ton of success.
The 5-1-3 defense also adds a strong layer of versatility, something again that has been a priority for Rob Leonard. Unlike the Vikings, the Raiders will not live out of the 5-1-3, but they will run the defense with the ability to rotate into other coverages such as a traditional 3-4, a 4-3, and even a 3-3 defense with a variety of rotations during pre and post snap. Another core aspect of the defense comes with the ability to rotate the defensive backs, which Rob Leonard has stated will happen. The unit has the ability to rotate their strong safety into the bandit role, or into the nickel, while their free safety can also swap with the bandit and strong safety. When it comes to Cover-3, you’ll see the boundary corners flip into the back third coverages, the free safety often rotates up to cover one flat along with the strong safety, and your bandit safety plays a hybrid deep middle and mid coverage.
Defensive Line:
As mentioned, the 5-1 defense has a core philosophy that surrounds athletic versatile DT/DE hybrids, which despite lacking some talent on their interior defensive line, the Raiders do fit that mold. For a full breakdown of how their DL will operate, you can check out an article from April where I broke down the unit. The traditional “defensive tackle” is going to be a primary 2, 3, and 4i defensive tackle while your “defensive end” traditionally lines up at the 4 & 5 technique (don’t read too much into this please). A true traditional EDGE rusher will likely be aligned at the 9 or 7 technique, with some time at 6 and 5 technique as well dependent on the system. Lastly, a “nose tackle” is usually lining at the 0, 1, or 2i technique. If you want to sum it up in one sentence “The IDL is a traditional 3-4, focusing on taking gaps, and attacking the front while the EDGE rushers collapse the pocket horizontally”
In terms of a 5-1-5 front, a true NT will be on the field often aligned at a true 0, with two base DT/DE often as 3-Techniques, and then two EDGE rushers at a 7-Tech or Wide-9 (need to be an UBER athlete). For the Raiders, it’s clear they will have a competition with nose tackle between 7th rounder Brandon Cleveland, UDFA Gary Smith, and free agent Benito Jones. The winner of the nose tackle competition is going to need to live off two core factors, athleticism & a minor ability to rush the passer. Among the three, Brandon Cleveland is the best athlete, though he can get pushed around at times which can create an issue with his ability to truly hold a 0-technique role. Benito Jones & Gary Smith are adequate athletes, but struggle to present a real threat in the twist/stunt department, which Cleveland does extremely well.
As above, the defensive line will work heavily with twists/stunts, something Leonard has done through his career with the Raiders defensive line. A core part of being able to pull off twists & stunts is athletic ability, and versatility on the DL. The versatility piece isn’t a concern for the Raiders, with their IDL having a ton of ability to rotate across the unit especially Adam Butler. Butler is coming off a down 2025 season, and even if he’s starting to regress, he’s still shown high end versatility with 50% of his snaps at 3-Tech, 15% at 4, and 21% coming from 0-2 technique. Additionally, Thomas Booker & Tonka Hemingway who are undoubtedly the best two pass rushers on the Raiders interior, both have versatility with Booker playing 31% at 2-Tech, 44% at 3-Tech, and 17% at 4-Tech. Meanwhile, Tonka Hemingway played over 250 snaps at 1, 2 (400), 4, and 5 Technique with another 753 snaps at 3-Tech during his time at South Carolina. Jonah Laulu is also a versatile piece on the interior, but works more towards the 2/2i technique than a 3/4 technique. Another name to note is 6th rounder JJ Pegues, who does haver versatility to play 0, 2, 3, and 4 technique with good strength vs the run, and quality athleticism.
In terms of the EDGE rushers, Maxx Crosby & Malcolm Koonce both fit the traditional 7/9 Technique pass rusher, though both have an ability to rush from a 5-Tech role as well, though I don’t expect that much this year. Crosby has played 88% from 7-Tech, Koonce 66%, and new free agent signing Kwity Paye 78% though he does have some experience working as a 6/5 Technique which could be a core role for him. I’d expect Paye to still play at 7-Technique, largely as a run defender, and he should be able to tap into his athleticism to stunt and twist. 3rd Rounder Keyron Crawford is a core piece of this defense, should he develop. Crawford can drop into the flats, work exceptionally well in pass rush games, and his athleticism allows him the ability to align all over the defensive line. Additionally, UDFA Cian Slone can do similar things to Crawford, and he plays with a ton of athleticism which should allow him to work in small samples if he makes the roster.
Bandit Safety:
This is the core of the 5-1 defense, a safety who has the ability to effectively do everything from a nickel cornerback, nickel defender, box safety, free safety, and some. Additionally, the bandit safety needs to have the ability to play against TE/Slot Receivers in man coverage, play overhang coverage, and also be able to rotate across the unit. If that sounds familiar, it’s basically my breakdown of 2nd rounder Treydan Stukes. The 6’2, 190 pound safety is going to be a versatile chess piece for the Raiders secondary, and he fills the bandit safety role exceptionally well. Through his career at Arizona, Stukes played 966 snaps at boundary CB, 925 in the nickel, 237 at strong safety, 500 at free safety, and another 155 as a box defender.
Stukes plays with a ton of athleticism, high level instincts, and he’s an extremely advanced run defender with high level instincts, an understanding of leverage, and also an innate ability to play bigger than he is which helps when playing in the box. The Raiders will very likely move Stukes around, and he’s more than capable of doing so. In certain situations he’ll take the FS role and play downfield, while also having an ability to play the nickel position, box linebacker role, or a traditional strong safety as well. If Stukes can do what the Raiders imagine he can, and if he can do so at a good level, the defense will heavily rely on him and he has the chance to be a game changer for the unit. I’d also keep an eye on Dalton Johnson, who while also a rookie, has done similar things to Stukes at Arizona.
Nickel Defender(s) & Safeties:
As I broke down earlier, the nickel defender here isn’t the traditional slot cornerback but he’s more of a bigger defender, similar to Harrison Smith with the Vikings, Nick Emmanwori in Seattle, and Kyle Hamilton in Baltimore. In no world am I comparing Jeremy Chinn to those three, but Chinn can function in that role, and it’s something he’s done before in his time with the Commanders. Chinn is versatile, he’s able to play near the line of scrimmage, and does best when he’s not tasked with keeping defenders from getting behind him. Chinn is an extremely good run defender, and he’s physical enough to play against tight ends, something he’ll likely be asked to do in this position. Jeremy Chinn is a foundational piece if the Raiders want to run a 5-1 defense, as he’s an extension of the secondary and required to heavily play a role in a variety of assignments.
Additionally, nickel cornerback Taron Johnson will rotate into the strong safety, free safety, and nickel defender role but he’s not the true “nickel defender” that Chinn is. I also want to note on other safeties, mainly Isaiah Pola-Mao. Pola-Mao is versatile, he’s similar to Chinn when working near the line of scrimmage, and I’m not a fan of his working as a true free safety, or he’d have a chance to play in the bandit safety role. Pola-Mao is a capable defender, he’s likely an average safety in the NFL long term, but he’s able to play in short yardage situations, has good athleticism, and his instincts near the line of scrimmage make him a vastly different player than when he is downfield in a free safety role.
I can see the Raiders running a traditional 5-2 base defense, with the 3 interior lineman, 2 EDGE rushers, and 2 linebackers. That would put just 4 defensive backs on the field, which can create some stress on the secondary but gives you two boundary cornerbacks, a traditional strong safety in Jeremy Chinn, and traditional FS in Treydan Stukes. This is also a 3-4 defense, though it’s the traditional 5-2 in modern era.
Inside Linebacker:
Athletes, that’s the core principle here but it stems into two major aspects as well. For starters, a lot of blitzing is built around the linebackers, and the Raiders did acquire to exceptional blitzing linebackers, with Nakobe Dean the best of the two. In addition, they are capable to play zone coverage in small drops which will allow them to take away parts of the middle of the field, an area the Raiders haven’t been able to cover for a long time. Lastly, the way the defensive front is adjusted, the linebacker unit will be crucial to the run game, with an ability to create negative plays but also clean up the work the defensive line does. The Raiders defensive line will be extremely aggressive, and as a result they can create lanes for the linebacker duo allowing them to come uphill and work on stopping backs near the line of scrimmage. The front protects the linebackers from having to take on offensive lineman at the second level, leaving them free to quickly snap and react to the ball.
Defensive Depth Chart Predictions:
Ignore the positioning of each defender in terms of their alignment, but these are two guesses I have for what the Raiders defense COULD look like this season.
The 5-1-5 Defense with a traditional Bandit & Big Nickel (right click, open new tab for bigger photo)
The 5-2-4 BASE Defense with a traditional Bandit & Big Nickel (right click, open new tab for bigger photo)
