Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby continues to garner league-wide recognition as one of their best players, though he’s not quite a Top 10 talent, according to Pro Football Focus, at least.
That’s interesting; it makes you wonder what more No. 98 needs to do to get to that next level of recognition. Don’t forget, Crosby received a grand total of zero first-place votes for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year honor. This isn’t a knock on T.J. Watt or Micah Parsons, but you could make the argument that the lack of success the Raiders have experienced during Crosby’s time likely plays a factor. When looking at the list of the players that were up for the honor, making the playoffs is the common denominator.
Is Raiders DE Maxx Crosby a Top 10 talent in the NFL?
As far as PFF goes, Sam Monson had CeeDee Lamb, Penei Sewell, and Dexter Lawrence ranked ahead of Crosby.
“No. 11: One of the most consistent edge rushers in the league, Crosby is also arguably the best run defender among that group. He racked up 94 total pressures over the season and posted a 92.7 PFF run-defense grade despite battling through a knee injury that resulted in some gruesome-looking swelling at times.”
It’s worth noting that Monson mentions Crosby’s knee injury. While he didn’t miss time, the All-Pro pass rusher was hobbled; he is human, after all. Regardless, you can’t help but feel that there’s been some sort of bias—what more does he need to do?
- 23 tackles for a loss
- 2 pass deflections
- 14.5 sacks
- 55 solo tackles
- 92.7 PFF run defense grade
- 94 total pressures
Well, the Raiders need to win.
To do that, the team needs a quarterback to take them to the next level. The talk surrounding the Raiders and this year’s NFL draft is that acquiring a quarterback should be the priority. On that note, Crosby has seen quite a quarterback carousel as of late—Derek Carr, Jarrett Stidham, Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, and finally, Aidan O’Connell. Sooner or later, the Raiders need to get it right, or else one of their few generational talents this century will go to waste.
*Top Photo: Harry How/Getty Images