Where Raiders' DC Patrick Graham Stands Among Other Coordinators

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Ezekiel Trezevant | Last updated Jul 2, 2025 12:00 PM ET

One of the few consistently positive things that have surrounded the Las Vegas Raiders over the past few seasons has been the steady hand of Patrick Graham over a largely makeshift defense with plenty of moving parts.

Regardless of the situation, the Raiders' defense was usually in position to make plays, even if the plays were not always made. While both are a sign of coaching, Graham has undoubtedly gotten the most anyone could have reasonably expected from the defensive rosters he has been given.

Jacob Infante of the Pro Football Network recently released his rankings of every defensive coordinator in the National Football League.

He ranked Raiders Defensive Coordinator as the 22nd-best defensive coordinator in the NFL.

"Patrick Graham hasn’t had much to work with as the defensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders since he took the role in 2022. That said, he’s remained with the team through three different head coaches, which speaks volumes about his reputation around the league.," Infante said.

"The Raiders have never been elite on defense under Graham’s watch, but they’ve been respectable over the last couple of years, despite head coaching and offensive instability.

Following Organized Team Activities, Graham gave insight into his approach as he is one of the few Raiders players and coaches that have been with the team through the current, and past two regimes.

"The continuity thing, again, I keep telling you guys, each season is so different. You take a step back, look at and evaluate yourself, me personally, like, 'What did I do, what can I do better, what was good?' Then you look at the defense and see what was good, what was bad. Then you've got to look within the league and see what the trends are," Graham said.

"Because if you don't stay ahead of it, you can get in trouble. So, I mean, it's important. You have to ask the players, maybe they can – but we start over every year, so that's a big part of it. But regardless, the other 31 teams don't care what our feelings are about continuity, so we've got to get on the same page."

"And that's why we spend all this time in the office, that's why we spend this time out on the field. So, we've got to get on the same page. Everybody's got to understand what the vision of Coach, how Coach wants this team to be run, and our play style and everything and we've got to go from there."

Find us on X (formerly Twitter) @HondoCarpenter and Instagram @HondoSr and talk to us in 2025 about everything Las Vegas!

While here, check out our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE to discuss all Raiders content in 2025.

This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: