Oakland Raiders: Maxx Crosby proving to be breakout star as rookie
The Oakland Raiders found a potential star in fourth-round rookie Maxx Crosby, whose four sacks vs. Cincinnati are just part of a great rookie year.
When the Bengals came to visit the Oakland Raiders on Sunday in Week 11, fourth-round rookie edge rusher Maxx Crosby had just 2.5 sacks on the season. While he’d been effective in his role, he hadn’t gotten home to the quarterback all that often through the start of his first NFL season. Cincinnati quarterback Ryan Finley wished that had remained the case in Oakland.
Instead, Crosby was a menace for the Bengals for all 60 minutes in the 17-10 triumph for the Raiders. The youngster out of Eastern Michigan ended the day with five combined tackles but, more impressively, five sacks on the day, moving his season total to 6.5 with one performance. For good measure, one of his takedowns was a strip-sack of Finley that proved beneficial for the silver and black.
Back in April when Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock had three first-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, they were lambasted for reaching to take Clelin Ferrell at No. 4 overall. And for the most part, that has played out in favor of the critics. While the Clemson product has had flashes, his consistent performance and effectiveness has not been there.
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What has helped to save the Raiders young defense, though, is a player like Crosby, who the Raiders took 106th overall. Obviously he hasn’t been reeling off four-sack outings like the one he had in Week 11. However, he has been Oakland’s best presence off of the edge and has been getting better as the season’s gone on.
Leading into the Week 11 matchup, per PFF on Twitter, Crosby led the Raiders in quarterback pressures with 25 on the season. But more impressively, the developmental mid-round player has clearly been coming into his own after recording seven pressures in Week 10 and the coming up with four sacks this past week.
Whenever the Raiders traded Khalil Mack, the need for edge rushers on the Oakland defense was immediate. And it became clear that a player like Arden Key was not the answer and that’s why the regime took Ferrell at No. 4 and then took Crosby just 102 selections later.
Even with the addition of Crosby, though, many people surmised that the Raiders still needed another edge rusher, perhaps taking another in the first round of the 2020 draft as they have multiple selections in the first 32 picks again. With the emergence of Crosby, though, that need is looking less dire.
To be sure, Crosby needs to be more consistent and keep on this track. After all, the Bengals have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, so he should be able to take advantage of that matchup. But even still, he’s shown signs of developing into not just a serviceable but a viably very-good defensive end on this Raiders team.
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What’s clear, though, is that Oakland finding Crosby in the fourth round puts them in a fantastic position moving forward as they continue to build this roster and move to Las Vegas. His presence and emergence allows the Raiders to look to address other big holes, such as at cornerback, wide receiver or linebacker, rather than dipping into the edge-rusher pool once again.