Las Vegas Raiders defensive end David Agoha is in a much different situation than he was in a year ago.
Last year, Agoha was adjusting to the NFL life after joining the Raiders by way of the NFL's international Player Pathway program. With a full NFL season behind him, he will be looking to have a more significant impact this coming season.
Raiders defensive line coach Rob Leonard is now coaching Agoha for his second straight season, an experience he quite enjoys.
"I love David [Agoha]. It makes me take nothing for granted, assume nothing," Leonard said this past week. "I think it was in training camp last year, we were putting in a call, we were like, 'David, this comes from the field,' and he was here all spring mind you. He's like, 'Coach what do you mean by the
field, ' and I said, 'Shame on me, I didn't explain. This is the hashmarks on the field, this is the wide side of the field, this is the short side.' So, I sometimes say this line, I'm giving you guys lines that I say. Navy Seals, they say there are no bad boat crews, only bad boat captains, so like that's on me, that's my fault.
"So like with him, back to the progression thing, going back very basic, football 101, that's everything, calls. Why do we call it base defense? Why we call it nickel defense? What's nickel? All those types of things, so you're just building and trying to explain the basics of the game. And like I said, you can't assume it. I tell David, you've got to confirm, if you don't know you need to tell me you don't know, because a lot of guys will just sit there like, 'Yeah, alright."
Agoha did not play in a regular season game for Las Vegas last season. He did, however, record a sack in the team's preseason win over the Los Angeles Rams last year.
The Raiders signed Agoha to a reserve/future contract in January. The club initially signed him in May 2023.
