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Despite being a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, it became clear pretty quickly that the Las Vegas Raiders found a serious steal in Maxx Crosby. He didn’t notch his first sack until Week 5 but from there, he was able able to put up double digits. He’s one of only two rookies for the Raiders to ever get 10 sacks in a season.
Heading into his second year, he’s no longer a secret weapon. He’s excepted to be the team’s top rusher and should get a lot of attention when opposing offenses are watching film. Even with the extra attention he’s sure to get, there’s still a lot of excitement about Crosby’s future. Five-time Pro Bowler for the New Orleans Saints Cameron Jordan and Crosby have struck up a friendship. Jordan had some big praise for the second-year pass rusher.
Jordan was part of the NFL’s All-Decade team. If Crosby could be anywhere close to that good, the Raiders would be plenty happy. He was very raw coming out of college but was able to make an impact quickly. There’s no reason to think he won’t be better in his second year. Plus, he’s been putting in the work.
Crosby Has Been Working out Intensively
Some players have all the talent in the world but don’t put in the work. Others don’t have as much talent but work very hard. Crosby isn’t just an athletic freak, he also trains incredibly hard. The Raiders defensive end recently showed off a really tough hill workout.
If the hard work translates into production on the field, Crosby could take the leap from promising rookie to Pro Bowler.
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Crosby Hyped for 2nd Season
The Raiders should be very excited to see what they can get out of Crosby but he’s just as hyped, per Heidi Fang of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
I’m definitely looking forward to it. Looking at my season, I had a lot of ups and downs. I didn’t really get playing until the fourth game. So, going into the offseason and seeing where I finished compared to how I looked in the beginning, it was like night and day.
The team made a big change this offseason by letting go of defensive line coach Brenston Buckner in favor of Rod Marinelli. Buckner did a great job improving the dreadful defensive line the Raiders fielded in 2018. Unfortunately for him, Jon Gruden has strong ties with Marinelli and didn’t want to pass on the opportunity to reunite with him. Crosby is going to miss Buckner but his excited about his new coach:
First of all, coach Buck was a great influence on me — on my life, on the field. That dude taught me a ton. I still talk to him ‘til this day. I feel like I’m gonna have a close mentor for the rest of my life. … But we got Marinelli now and he’s bringing another aspect to the D-line room. It’s going to be a little bit different, but he’s a legend. He’s been coaching for 50 years, he won Super Bowls and he’s football 24-7. And that’s exactly what I am. So we get along great.
Marinelli is one of the best defensive minds in the NFL and could end up helping more than just the defensive line.
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