‘He’s showing all his ability’: What the Raiders are saying about Rookie Malcolm Koonce
While there were many lowlights in the Las Vegas Raiders’ 48-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday, a bright spot continued to emerge on defense.
That would be Raiders rookie defensive end Malcolm Koonce.
The former University of Buffalo pass rusher recorded a sack and a quarterback hit in his second game with the Raiders. It was the second sack of his career after also getting one in his NFL debut against the Washington Football Team on Dec. 5.
Raiders defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson already is impressed and believes in Koonce’s future.
“Malcolm been working his butt off since he got here and getting better every day,” Jefferson said on a Zoom call Tuesday. “It’s great to see a young guy go out there and just making his snaps count and affecting the quarterback.”
The Raiders selected Koonce in the third round (79th overall) of the 2021 NFL draft. He is listed at 6 feet, 2 inches and 250 pounds.
He began his pro career on the scout team, learning all he could from defensive ends Maxx Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue. Said Koonce: “I needed to stay the course” in preparation for when he would get his opportunity to join the active roster.
“I’ve been playing football forever,” Koonce said. “Obviously you want to play and make plays. I did understand that I needed to mature and stay the course. It’s most definitely things I needed to learn.”
Jefferson and fellow defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins believe the best is still to come.
“He’s showing all his ability,” Jefferson said. “I’m just excited to see how he progress as a player, especially when he gets more games and snaps under his belt and just get stronger. He’s still got that college weight, so when he gets in the real weight room and get some real man strength on him, he’s going to a problem in this league for a long time.”
Said Hankins: “To me, he looks like a starter. I feel like he can go out there and compete, just as good as Yan and Maxx. I’ve been excited that he’s getting his chances and opportunity to go out there and play, and I love playing with the kid. He’s been phenomenal.”