Having started 74 of the 75 career games he’s played over the course of five seasons in the league and inking a rich three-year $48 million contract in free agency, one can safely assume Kwity Paye looms large in the Las Vegas Raiders‘ plans this coming season.
The 27-year-old Michigan product was one of big-ticket additions when free agency opened in mid-March, garnering a contract with the Silver & Black that includes $31.238 million guaranteed and $25.738 of which was fully guaranteed when he signed said pact. Financial commitment noted, the Indianapolis Colts‘ first-round pick (21st overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft certainly fills a need on the Raiders‘ defense. (Even though Paye’s initial arrival was based on Las Vegas‘ dealing fellow edge rusher Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens was initially believed to be a done deal).
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By The NumbersKwity Paye, Edge Rusher
2025: 17 games (16 starts), 39 total tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 9 quarterback hits, 1 pass deflection
Career: (2021-25) 75 games (74 starts), 209 total tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 30.5 sacks, 50 quarterback hits, 3 pass deflections, 4 forced fumbles.
Standing 6-foot-3 and 265 pounds, Paye is a power-based edge presence who can not only set but maintain the edge and provide a much-needed tag team partner and run eliminator alongside Crosby. The Raiders have long sought a complementary bookend to Crosby, including spending the seventh-0verall selection in the 2023 draft on Tyree Wilson. But Wilson’s development wasn’t to the team’s liking and he was traded to the New Orleans Saints alongside a 2026 seventh-round pick (219th overall that was used on Iowa cornerback TJ Hall) in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the draft (Raiders picked Arizona safety Dalton Johnson 150th overall with said selection).
That noted, Paye’s fit on the Raiders’ 3-4 defensive front is a standup strong-side outside linebacker who takes on offensive linemen and tight ends alike, but also the versatility and power to be a hands-in-dirt defensive end, depending on down, distance, and circumstance.
We’ve already seen how much a demon Crosby is against both the run and pass. The 28-year-old homegrown Raider has an ungodly 133 tackles for loss (he lead the league in this category in back-to-back seasons in 2022 and 2023) in his seven years with the Raiders, including 28 this past season (new Los Angeles Rams edge rusher Myles Garrett led the league with 33).
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Paye doesn’t have that same ridiculous numbers at 37 total in his five years, but the former Colt and Wolverine is every bit as tenacious and driven to make a difference as is more productive Raiders’ teammate. A significant portion of Paye’s production is on sheer pursuit and will alone and it’s that high motor and closing speed which make him a force both as a run defender and pass rusher.
Thus, when the Raiders are in the base 3-4 defensive front, deploying Paye as the strong-side outside linebacker (SAM) to force run plays back inside and contain the outside zone are within the defender’s wheelhouse. Paye has the demeanor, power, and size to anchor as a defensive end on three-man fronts but isn’t the type you want to play hands-in-the-dirt for a large portion of time in odd front. That’s a task more in-line with the physical traits of traditional defensive tackles like Thomas Booker IV (6-foot-3, 301 pounds), Adam Butler (6-foot-4, 301 pounds), Tonka Hemingway (6-foot-2, 284 pounds) and Jonah Laulu (6-foot-5 and 289 pounds).
In certain situations, however, deploying Paye in various spots gives defensive coordinator Rob Leonard the ability to disguise and be less predictable when matching up with opposing offenses. And this is largely due to Paye’s impressive athletic profile as he brings speed (4.57 40-time at the Michigan Pro Day in 2021), lateral agility, alongside impressive power (36 reps on the 225-pound bench press).
Being a productive veteran, Paye has taken to helping his new teammates out in the offseason sessions the Raiders engaged in.
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“Always. I say all the time I’ve learned the most from players, and when they take control of that, that’s where the details get taught, what things look like in reality outside of a playbook, and that’s what you want to see,” Leoanrd said. “I mean, it makes you feel good, to be honest with you.”
As a pass rusher, Paye’s highest sack output was 8.5 in 2023 and he followed that up with eight in 2024. This past season, though, Paye accounted for just four sacks with the Colts, which ties his lowest output in his career (he only had four his rookie year in 2021). While the QB takedowns decreased, according to Pro Football Reference charting, Paye had a career-high 23 pressures and 14 hurries in the 17 games he played in 2025 (16 starts).
With Leonard slated to deploy an aggressive attacking defense, don’t be surprised to see both Crosby and Paye blitzing from their respective outside linebacker spots to create a pincer-style rush where one feeds the quarterback to the other. Especially considering both have elite effort and relentlessness, the pursuit from the edges along with interior pressure from inside linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker presents ample problems when the Raiders are in the 3-4 front.
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Paye’s long arms help him maintain control of blockers and his explosive closing speed allows him to handle tight ends and slower-to-react offensive linemen.
Of course, like many NFL defenses, don’t expect the Raiders to be in the base 3-4 alignment to combat pass-happy offenses. The nickel and dime packages will be used, too. And if Leonard digs into the well of the coaches he’s learned under, don’t be surprised if sub packages are used more often as Seattle Seahawks head coach and defensive play caller Mike Macdonald — who Leonard cut his teeth under with the Ravens — deployed nickel packages the most in the league last season.
Be it a 3-3-5, 4-2-5, or even 5-2-4 nickel front, Paye has the ability to be a base end using his athleticism and power to be equal parts run stuffer and pass rusher. And that’s likely what we’ll see with the Raiders this coming season: Deploying rotations to keep defenders fresh throughout the four quarters. Ok, I digress, we’ll rarely see Crosby come off the field once he’s completely, 100 percent healthy.
“It’s a great problem to have,” new defensive line coach Travis Smith said of depth, “in the sense that if you look on the offensive side of the ball, there’s five starters (on the offensive line). And as long as they stay healthy, they play the whole game. In the D-line room it’s different. If you have eight guys active, eight guys play. … It’s necessary, there’s no way around it. We need that.”
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