INDIANAPOLIS — The Las Vegas Raiders defense will look quite a bit different in 2026 if star Maxx Crosby is part of it or not.
New head coach Klint Kubiak said Wednesday the plan is for defensive coordinator Rob Leonard to install a 3-4 base defense, a marked change from the 4-3 base employed the last few years under Patrick Graham.
“I do see us being a base 3-4 team,” Kubiak said at a downtown hotel during the NFL combine. “I see us being able to four down (linemen) well. I think Robby can be really multiple with his fronts.”
The shift could signal a different approach in free agency and the draft. The Raiders will move from four linemen and three linebackers in their base package to three linemen and four linebackers.
That requires a significant boost to a very thin linebacking corps and causes the Raiders to identify and potentially acquire true nose tackles to control the middle of the line.
Crosby could potentially fit as an edge linebacker should he be a part of the roster moving forward, a possibility which Kubiak expressed for despite swirling traderumors.
“That’s a guy we really want on our team,” Kubiak said. “It’s as simple as that. We want Maxx to be a Raider and the few interactions I’ve had with him have been very positive.
“I’m really excited about working with Maxx this year.”
Leonard is among Crosby’s closest allies on the team, which could help soothe any lingering tension. But that’s not why he was retained from the previous staff and handed the reigns of the defense for the first time in his career.
Kubiak, who had no real previous experience with Leonard, said he was simply very impressed when they met shortly after Kubiak was hired.
“(General manager) John Spytek spoke so highly of him when I first got hired and I know Joe Woods really well and Joe spoke highly of him, too,” Kubiak said. “I had some people I wanted to talk to about the job, but in my short time with (Leonard), I was really impressed with his knowledge and the backing he had in the building and relationships he built.
“Then when it came time to interview, Robby was really impressive. He had a plan. He knew what he wanted to do and the type of players he wanted to do it with. It revealed itself to me that he was the right guy for the job. Really excited to work with him.”
While Leonard and Kubiak had not previously worked together, Leonard did serve as outside linebackers coach under Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald when he was the defensive coordinator in Baltimore. Leonard also served in several different roles under Brian Flores in Miami.
Both of those highly-respected defensive coaches employ hybrid 3-4 defenses with varying degrees of incorporated pressure. Macdonald’s system typically employs five defensive backs even though it is technically run from a 3-4 base.
Leonard, will be largely designing his own brand of the defense.
“He’s got a lot of impressive influences, but he has his own identity as well,” Kubiak said. “We’re getting to work on that part of the puzzle right now and talking to personnel this time of year, but I’m really excited about more of the person than anything.”
Kubiak said the decision to move to this system was made collaboratively between himself and Leonard. It’s one he is very comfortable with as they begin the process of reshaping the roster and the team.
“We’re in this thing together,” Kubiak said. “From his background in Baltimore, he’s been in a lot of schemes but he has a precise vision on who he wants to be.
“As we get into free agency and the draft and see who our players are and what they do best, that’s what we’re eventually going to evolve to, but you have to have a starting point and that to me would be a base 3-4.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.