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For those who haven’t been paying attention to the Oakland Raiders, Maxx Crosby has a very bright future and had a huge statement game in Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals. The rookie destroyed the Bengals’ offensive line and took down Ryan Finley four times. It was a rookie sack record for the Raiders and because of his efforts, the AFC named him Defensive Player of the Week
He was better than every other defensive player in the AFC for Week 11 and that’s very impressive for a rookie fourth-round pick. Crosby has been showing off rapid development all season and it all came together for him this past Sunday. He’s been getting better every week, so he could be in for a late-season charge.
Defensive Rookie of the Year?
Crosby didn’t necessarily start sticking out until Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts when he started to see his snaps increase. Since that game, he’s been a one-man wrecking crew. In the last six games, he has 6.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hits. If you could eliminate the first four weeks of the season, he’d be right in the thick of the Defensive Rookie of the Year race. However, he’s still got some catching up to do.
Currently, it’s Nick Bosa’s award to lose. He’s been one of the most impressive defensive ends in all of football and a big part of one of the top defenses in the NFL. He only has 0.5 sacks more than Crosby, but he’s been more valuable than his sacks numbers. That being said, analysts really value those sack totals, so if Crosby can continue to put up big numbers and surpass Bosa, he could jump ahead of him in the award race. It would be a very surprising turn of events as the Raiders drafted a different pass rusher just two picks after Bosa and he isn’t even in the conversation right now.
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Tony Romo Was Ahead of the Curve on Crosby
Back during the Week 6 game versus the Green Bay Packers, CBS commentator and former pro bowl quarterback Tony Romo predicted that Maxx Crosby would make multiple pro bowls during the broadcast. Well, it’s hard to argue with Romo after how Crosby has played since.
It’s hard not to look at Crosby and be reminded of Jared Allen. Just like Allen, Crosby was drafted in the fourth round from a relatively small school. Allen started strong in his rookie season and notched nine sacks and it looks like Crosby could get that many and maybe more. The Raiders are very familiar with Allen as he tortured the team during his tenure with the Kansas City Chiefs. If Crosby can turn into half the player Allen was, Oakland won’t have any complaints. It’s still early in his career, but it shouldn’t surprise anybody if he finds himself in a few pro bowl games in the future. He may just end up being the biggest steal in the 2019 NFL Draft.
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