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Las Vegas Raiders 2019 rookie grades: Josh Jacobs stars, Maxx Crosby breaks out

By Cody Williams

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 27: Josh Jacobs #28 of the Oakland Raiders runs the ball during a game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Houston, Texas. The Texans defeated the Raiders 27-24. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 27: Josh Jacobs #28 of the Oakland Raiders runs the ball during a game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Houston, Texas. The Texans defeated the Raiders 27-24. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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Las Vegas Raiders (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images)
Las Vegas Raiders (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images) /

Trayvon Mullen, CB (Round 2, Pick 40)

The 2019 season was certainly not what Raiders fans expected it to be regarding cornerback Trayvon Mullen — and probably not what the rookie expected either. The plan seemed to be to bring him along relatively slowly with limited tastes of action. However, when the Raiders traded Gareon Conley in the middle of the season, Mullen was forced into the role as one of the starting outside corners.

While the Clemson product struggled when he saw the field for limited reps early in the year, he made tremendous strides throughout the season. By the end of year one in his career, there may not have been a better defensive back on the Raiders roster than Mullen. He finished the season with only one interception but had 10 pass breakups to his credit and was just shy of 50 total tackles.

If Mullen continues to progress as he did at the end of the season, the Raiders got tremendous value in the second round.

Grade: B

Maxx Crosby, DE (Round 4, Pick 106)

With Ferrell being the No. 4 overall pick, there really wasn’t much in terms of expectations for Maxx Crosby coming out of Eastern Michigan. At best, many pegged Crosby as a developmental depth piece with some intriguing upside to be a factor in the pass rush down the line. Instead, he outperformed Ferrell by a mile.

After he recovered from a preseason hand injury, Crosby emerged as the other breakout star of this rookie class with Jacobs as he became a starter the Raiders needed on the field. In the final 11 games of the season, Crosby had nine sacks, finishing with 10 overall in his rookie campaign to go with 16 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles.

Crosby proved to be a dog coming off the edge as both a pass-rusher and a plus-run defender. Given his effectiveness and where he was drafted, it’s hard not to give Crosby extremely high marks for his 2019 performance.

Grade: A+

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