Malcolm Koonce
Las Vegas RaidersModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 17 games
Draft & College
He went about where consensus had him.
Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.
Comps
STM Take
Tier 2 (#10) peak in 2023 plus the 2024 preseason ACL plus the 2025 tier 8 (#67) post-ACL return puts Koonce in the recovery-context band. The Buffalo MAC origin plus the 2023 breakout proves a top-15 EDGE ceiling exists. The 2026 question is whether Koonce returns to tier 5 territory in his year-two ACL recovery or whether the structural injury wear closes the elite chapter.
Koonce came out of Buffalo as the Las Vegas Raiders' 3rd-round pick (79th overall) in 2021. He spent two years as developmental depth before emerging into a tier 2 (#10) breakout in 2023 with 8 sacks. He tore his ACL in the 2024 preseason and missed all of 2024, then returned in 2025 to tier 8 (#67). His STTM career runs tier 2 (#10) peak in 2023 to tier 8 (#67) post-ACL recovery in 2025.
Strengths
- 2023 tier 2 (#10) peak as a 3rd-round pick confirms a top-15 EDGE ceiling exists in the right scheme fit.
- Buffalo MAC origin plus five years of NFL development gives him real veteran value for a Day 2 pick.
Concerns
- 2024 preseason ACL plus the 2025 tier 8 (#67) post-ACL return puts the recovery curve at significant downside risk.
- Las Vegas's broader defensive identity instability plus the QB transition compresses the structural support around Koonce's recovery.
What to watch: Whether Koonce returns to tier 5 (top 40) in 2026 in his year-two ACL recovery, the threshold for confirming the 2023 ceiling can be recaptured.