Las Vegas Raiders players have been no strangers to disrespect by Pro Football Focus. However, it seems that this offseason, PFF has been a bit more biased in their coverage. This is more apparent with regard to Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby.
Crosby is coming off an impressive 2021 campaign that earned him much praise. This upcoming season looks to be a special one following the addition of Chandler Jones. Having a proven pass rusher that will consistently get to quarterbacks is going to do wonders. Regardless, the recent Madden rankings certainly didn’t think much of Crosby when the news dropped. As for PFF, they released their top 50 players heading into 2022. Needless to say, Crosby barely cracked their list.
What did PFF have to say about Maxx Crosby?
“Crosby broke out in a huge way and led the entire league in pressures during 2021, becoming just the third player since 2006 to top 100 pressures over the course of a season. Crosby faced an absurdly weak collection of tackles, but even when he faced better players, he continued to dominate. Time will tell if he can keep that up against a better slate of blockers in 2022.”
It’s quite absurd that PFF continues to insist that Crosby somehow had an advantage when it comes to the tackles he faced. This is where their grading system for offensive linemen can be misleading. However, they did recognize his sheer amount of pressures (100) last year was insane.
As far as 2022 goes, the Raiders will need him to finish more on those pressures. The sack numbers need to increase. Following his contract extension, you can be sure people will be monitoring those stats.
The fact that Khalil Mack was ranked higher than Crosby shows some bias, or, could it be PFF buying into the Los Angeles Chargers hype? If you compare them side by side, Crosby had a better 2021 season by far. Not to mention that Mack played in only seven games. Clearly, Mack’s legacy at this point plays a factor here. Regardless, what are your thoughts? Does Crosby deserve to at least leapfrog Mack?
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*Top Photo: AP Photo/Zach Bolinger
