Defense has to get much better in this key area
The Las Vegas Raiders are hard at work in training camp practices and there is plenty of work to do to prepare for the regular season, which begin September 7 at the New England Patriots.
Chief among the areas the team must work on starts with defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. He has to harp on his unit to jump on loose balls during training camp drills. It was an issue last season and mastering the art of falling on a fumbled ball starts now for Graham’s unit.
A recent tweet by NFL analyst Warren Sharp showed that the Raiders were tied for last in the NFL in recovering opponent’s fumbled ball with just three. Las Vegas was tied for last place with New Orleans and Jacksonville.
opponent fumbles recovered by team’s defense
16 – BUF, PIT
15
14 – GB
13 – CHI, PHI
12
11 – TB
10 – WAS, HOU, DEN, NYG, NYJ, CIN
9 – IND, DAL, MIN
8 – CLE, ARI, DET, CAR
7 – KC, LAR, TEN
6 – SF, ATL, LAC, MIA
5 – BAL, SEA, NE
4
3 – NO, JAX, LV*2024 regular season
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 10, 2025
Sometimes, these things are fluky and can change year-to-year. Perhaps with some training-camp emphasis and some luck, Las Vegas can see that fumble-recovery rate rise in 2025.
In other Raiders’ news:
- Top cores: SB Nation looks at the best, young cores in the league.
- Under pressure: SB Nation looks at the teams under the most pressure this season.
- Trade talk: PFF looks at trade candidates.