This training camp, the Raiders made the shocking decision to release Christian Wilkins. The former blockbuster free agent signing suffered setback in his recovery from a foot injury. His return was expected to be a big boost to the Raiders defensive line this season therefore his release was looking like a hole the team would have difficulty replacing.
It was to be left to Maxx Crosby, Adam Butler, and Malcolm Koonce — all of whom got big paydays this offseason — to big up the slack. And while Maxx Crosby has wreaked plenty of havoc even without the sack numbers to show it, the contributions have come from a couple of unexpected places.
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First up is Jonah Laulu. The second year defensive tackle not only leads the Raiders in sacks, he’s tied for the fourth most sacks in the league through two games.
Three players are tied for the league lead with 3.5 sacks — Carl Granderson, Myles Garrett, and Harold Landry. But right behind them is Laulu with three sacks.
Laulu had gotten increased snaps last season after Wilkerson’s injury and was again figuring to the be the guy to step up to replace him. Then the Raiders made a trade during camp, sending Jakorian Bennett to Philadelphia in exchange for little known DT Thomas Booker IV.
Booker was a fifth round pick back in 2022 by the Houston Texans who, up to this point, had started just two career games. And last season with the Eagles averaged less than 8% of the defensive snaps prior to the season final when they rested their starters.
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The Raiders saw something in Booker that told them he was more talented than his playing time suggested, so they went out and got him. And through two games, his pressure rate and get off time puts him in the top three in the league.
It would seem to be no coincidence either that the Raiders have a top five run defense over the first two weeks either. Yeah, it’s just two weeks, but it’s a great start.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Two unexpected NFL top performers emerge on Raiders defensive line