The Las Vegas Raiders added a massive piece to their defense last month, signing Christian Wilkins to a four-year, $110 million deal after spending five seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Wilkins is one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL and is expected to make an immediate impact for the Raiders.

Aside from the pressure he'll put on opposing offenses, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce also explained how Wilkins is going to be key in bringing the best out of the Las Vegas attack because of his infectious energy.

Via ESPN:

“[Wilkins' presence] makes life easier for us as coaches, I'll tell you that,” Pierce said. “When you get good players, it makes life easy. But what it does, along with the other gentlemen that we brought back, John Jenkins and Adam Butler, that's a lot of depth to that D-line room. … That's going to be our strong point of our team. From one to 10, we feel really good with those guys.

“But Christian, the energy, man, the personality, the love for the game. And now we've got somebody on the front [to match] with Maxx Crosby. Full-blown effort for 60 minutes. And that's what we're looking for. I think for us to get a player of his caliber, the way he's played over the last, really his entire career, it's going to be a blessing for Raider Nation.”

Afte all, Pierce is a former linebacker himself and prides himself in making sure the Raiders have a top-notch defense. They showed well after he took over last season, going 5-4 thanks to their ability to slow down opponents.

Raiders' defensive line looking strong

Signing Wilkins is huge, but Las Vegas also re-signed Adam Butler and John Jenkins while Malcolm Koonce and Tyree Wilson also returned. Koonce enjoyed a breakout campaign in 23′ while Wilson, a second-year DE, came into his own in the second half of the campaign.

That has Pierce feeling very good about his D-line:

“Yeah, it makes life easy for me,” Pierce said. “Because now [offenses], they're worried about blocking those four guys and not me, allowing me to be able to run. And that's what's going to happen for Robert Spillane as well. You're going to have to deal with Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce, I mean, obviously, Christian.

“So now you're looking at [Divine] Deablo and Robert Spillane [and it] should free those guys up even more to make more plays, to be more productive on the other side of the field.”

Per ESPN Stats & Info, the Raiders' defensive ends and defensive tackles had 36.5 of the team's 46 sacks last season. You can see how important this group is.

Christian Wilkins had 65 total tackles and a career-best nine sacks last season, which is a sign of better things to come. Not only does he bring talent to the table but Wilkins is experienced and he's hoping to use that to help Wilson, a guy who was also a first-round pick like him and took time to get accustomed to the league.

“I'm definitely going to make it a goal of mine to help him out as much as I can, be there for him in any way he needs me because I know how difficult it can be — the pressures and all that other stuff, the expectations and all that,” said Wilkins, who, like Wilson, was a high draft pick who did not have immediate success.

Needless to say, the Raiders defense will set the tone for how their 2024 campaign will turn out.