Coaches on losing teams are always watching game and practice film looking for answers. And so it was that Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham was at his desk weeks ago, not knowing his defensive line — already gutted by injuries — was about to lose star player Maxx Crosby for the season.
He clicked on Jonah Laulu … hmm.
The Raiders had met Laulu, a Las Vegas product, at their local pro day before the NFL Draft, and that was supposedly it when he was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round.
But he was cut just before the season started and the Raiders claimed him off waivers and stashed him. Laulu played all of 13 defensive snaps in the first four games.
But Graham started to notice the 6-foot-5, 292-pound defensive tackle at practice.
“These last four weeks, the practice tape has been outstanding,” Graham said three weeks ago. “And like, I’m not saying that just to be dramatic or anything like that, it’s just rep after rep after rep. … Jonah, the last four weeks, his practice, as many D-linemen I’ve been around, (has) been outstanding. It’s been outstanding. I’ll tell you that. From his footwork, strike, his eye progression, his effort to the ball. … But I mean, the kid has put in the work.”
Fast forward to Monday night, with Crosby out for the season and the Raiders looking for a spark defensively.
Laulu, the rookie from nearby Centennial High, had his first career sack and then later broke up a pass in the final minutes to get the Raiders the ball back down six points.
The @Raiders get pressure on 3rd down for the sack!
📺: #ATLvsLV on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/0DtnsUdGZs— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2024
He looked up in the stands and saw his mom crying, the same reaction she had when he had to pull his car over when he found out the Raiders had claimed him back in August.
“This has been like watching a movie,” he said Wednesday. “And I have to look again closely at the screen because I am the star.”
Laulu said he was actually in the wrong place — he looked over and saw safety Isaiah Pola-Mao next to him — when he broke up the pass.
He came over to the sideline and apologized to his coaches and teammates.
“Real dudes, that’s how they talk,” Graham said Thursday.
Real dudes learn from their mistakes and keep plugging away. That’s how Laulu left Las Vegas to play football at the University of Hawaii as a tight end. He switched positions to defensive end and then transferred to Oklahoma after a coaching change at Hawaii. The coaches there asked him to put on 30 pounds and play inside at defensive tackle.
Laulu was still learning his position when he walked into the Raiders facility in April. All coaches notice when a large man has some speed and “juice,” as Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said, and Pierce shook Laulu’s hand that day.
“I walked in thinking I had nothing to lose,” Laulu said. “And I had everything to prove. Our workout that day was supposed to be an hour long, but we finished in 20 minutes. Robbie (defensive line coach Rob Leonard) kind of killed us. But my biggest thing was to not show that I was tired. I was pretending that I could keep going no matter what. Water? No, I don’t need water.”
When he returned months later with a job, the coaches remembered why they loved him. And with Crosby, Christian Wilkins and Malcolm Koonce all out for the year, Laulu is going to play a lot down the stretch.
“I think he’s been improving each and every week,” Pierce said Tuesday. “Really excited about just watching his growth, his development throughout the season. Robbie Leonard and those guys have done an outstanding job of just kind of building him up slowly, not throwing him out there to the wolves right away. And each and every week, he’s kind of shown up.”
Forget the sack, Laulu seems to always be around the quarterback.
“Being disruptive … he really has a unique knack of rushing a passer,” Pierce said. “That’s probably the thing that he’s the best at right now, but he’s done a really good job at the run game. We actually use him as like a big defensive end because we were obviously light (Monday) at D-end.”
When he first returned to Las Vegas, Laulu was staying with his mom. Home-cooked meals, taking naps on the couch while his mom did his laundry … he was living the dream.
Until he remembered he was an NFL player, and NFL players don’t live with their moms.
“I gotta pick my words carefully … I love my mom, but you need your own space,” he said. “No offense to my mom. … I got my own place about 30 minutes away and gave my mom my garage opener so she can come over whenever she wants. Just let me know.”
Laulu definitely respects his elders, and he credits defensive tackle Adam Butler with being “my vet” and showing him the ropes — as well as taking on blockers for his sack Monday. And he credits Crosby with his spin move — something he learned on YouTube watching Crosby when he was back in Hawaii.
He was shy after meeting Crosby at first.
“It’s weird being around guys you idolized,” Laulu said. “You have to treat them normal because you don’t want to act weird. But acting normal around people you idolize is hard, so I just don’t talk to anybody. They think I’m quiet, but I’m really not. I’m just trying not to act weird.”
Coaches like rookies who are quiet. It means they are listening, and Leonard said Laulu is a quick study.
“I’m excited about Jonah,” Leonard said. “He’s humble and hungry and talented and has been in some systems where in college, he’s stunting and moving every play. But this kid, I’m excited about him.”
Laulu loves how Leonard pushes him and coaches him hard, but he doesn’t need any help staying humble.
“I just think of myself as a regular dude who just gets to be here,” he said. “I’m happy I made plays, but I feel like I have so much to prove. When I drive home after games and I see the Vegas lights in the background, I still can’t believe I get to do it at home.”
(Top photo: Jeff Bottari / Getty Images)
