For years, the Las Vegas Raiders have kept Maxx Crosby’s role simple. He’s a defensive end who sets the edge and rushes the passer.
It’s something that he does incredibly well. However, the Raiders are starting to ask him to do more. Many noticed during Week 2’s matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers that Crosby had a handful of snaps where he had to drop back into coverage.
It’s certainly a decision to have a lifelong defensive lineman, who is 6-foot-5, 255-pound, drop back into coverage, but the Raiders are just trying things out. Crosby also lined up at defensive tackle for a number of snaps.
While Crosby isn’t used to having to wear so many hats, he’s willing to do whatever he can to help the defense.
“It’s definitely different, but for me, I trust the coaches,” Crosby said, via Raiders.com. “I trust Coach Carroll and doing some different things. I feel like I can excel at any spot on the defense, and for me, I’m just trying to continue to evolve as a player. If that means dropping a little bit, we can do that.”
Crosby plays a ton of snaps, so it’s not a huge deal that the Raiders are experimenting, but the team doesn’t have a lot of pass rush juice right now. It makes more sense to have their best pass rusher focus on pass rushing.
Crosby Praises Jonah Laulu
Opinions weren’t high on the Raiders‘ defense heading into the 2025 NFL season, but the group has played well through two games. They currently have a top-five scoring and rushing defense.
The success in the run game is the biggest surprise. The Raiders’ defensive line took a big hit this offseason when star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins was released. Jonah Laulu emerged as a key player for the Raiders last season, and he appears to have taken major strides.
He’s currently tied for fourth-most sacks in the NFL with 3.0. Crosby has been really impressed with the Las Vegas native.
“He works his (expletive) off and he’s getting better and better,” Crosby said. “I love Jonah, he’s a super talented guy and he’s just going to keep getting better.”
Raiders Offense Needs to Catch Up
The Raiders‘ defense is clearly not as bad as many thought it would be, but the offense has been much worse than many expected. Las Vegas is going to need to be more balanced if they hope to win games.
Head coach Pete Carroll gave some insight into what went wrong with the offense in Week 2.
“We didn’t get the ball thrown underneath, that’s what I wish we would have done,” Carroll said after Monday’s loss. “I wish we would have not taken those (longer) shots. They looked like we had to score quick or something, I don’t feel like that when we play (or is) the way we should ever play. We gotta take what’s there, and we gotta take a look at the film to see why that happened like that. Surprised. We haven’t looked like that at all, at any time. That’s the first time that came up.”
Maxx Crosby Has Strong Response to Raiders Asking Him to Drop Into Coverage