The Las Vegas Raiders finally built perennial Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby a real defense—and now there are zero excuses left for Las Vegas.
For years, the Las Vegas Raiders ran one of the most predictable defensive game plans in the NFL. Every opposing offensive coordinator circled one name on the whiteboard: Maxx Crosby. Stop him, and you stop the Raiders’ defense. It was that simple, and it worked.
Double teams. Triple teams. Chip blocks. Tight ends left in protection. Whatever it took to neutralize the best defensive player in football, teams did it, and the Raiders stood there watching, unable to capitalize on all that extra space Crosby was creating everywhere else on the field.
That ends now. Or at least it better had.
John Spytek set out to finally fix the defense…
General manager John Spytek came into this offseason with a clear-eyed diagnosis: the Raiders had been running a one-man defense for too long. His prescription was aggressive. Free agency brought in impact linebackers drawn to new defensive coordinator Rob Leonard’s system, along with legitimate pass-rush options to flank Crosby on the defensive line.
Then the 2026 NFL Draft arrived, and Las Vegas went heavy on defense, adding at safety, cornerback, defensive end and defensive tackle. The Silver and Black did not just patch holes. They tried to rebuild the entire unit around their franchise cornerstone.
It was overdue.
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Crosby said it plainly on “The Rush” podcast: “Depth has been something we seem to be focusing on. When you have turnover as we have, you struggle to have depth.” He noted he has not had the same green-dot defensive signal-caller for more than two consecutive seasons. That kind of instability does not just hurt communication. It erodes everything.
Here’s what makes this moment worth watching: Crosby does not need the spotlight. He never did. A fourth-round pick out of Eastern Michigan in 2019, he was not a blue-chip prospect. He was a MAC kid who bet on his work ethic and won bigger than anyone imagined. First one in, last one out, every single day.
That mentality built the Raiders’ defensive identity almost singlehandedly. Now, for the first time, he may have the cast to match it.
The Raiders have handed Crosby every excuse imaginable to underperform. He has never used one.
Now they have taken the excuses away from themselves.
The pressure has officially shifted.
*Top Photo: Getty Images