Malcolm Koonce began to shine brilliantly last season, becoming an important contributor to the Raiders defense.
After spending his first two seasons as a rotational edge rusher, he made his breakthrough in 2023 as a starter opposite Defensive Player of the Year finalist Maxx Crosby. Koonce established career highs in almost every defensive category, including sacks (eight), tackles for loss (nine), and forced fumbles (three).
“It’s him making the decision to practice the right way, get better, improve, and put in the necessary work, and that’s just what it comes down to in professional football,” defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said of Koonce. “Guys making the decision to improve, and I’m trying to keep out of the way and not mess them up. I could not be more proud of that guy.”
Koonce’s spectacular season did not go unnoticed, with Around the NFL reporter Kevin Patra naming the third-year player a “unsung hero” of the 2023 season.
“Used sparingly in his first two years, Koonce was stuck in a rotation early in the season, but the Raiders finally gave him more snaps down the stretch, and Koonce blasted off,” Patra wrote in a blog post. “He racked up 8.0 sacks since Antonio Pierce took over as interim head coach in Week 9. He also contributed 36 pressures in that span, bringing his total to 51 for the season, and he finished second on the team in both categories, after Crosby. The former third-round pick had nine total pressures in his career as of 2023. Now it’s up to Koonce to show that his remarkable end-of-season run was no fluke.
