Maxx Crosby has managed to improve each year in the NFL. That is pretty hard to accomplish, but Crosby has done it and is now the face of the franchise for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Crosby is been an outstanding player for several seasons now and is finally starting to get the respect that he deserves. But where does Crosby rank among his peers, according to the rest of the league?
In a recent article by Jeremey Fowler of ESPN, he interviewed dozens of NFL executives, coaches, and decision-makers and asked them to rank their top-10 EDGE rushers. Crosby came in at No. 5, behind Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons, and Nick Bosa. Here is a snippet of what they had to say about Crosby:
“He reminds me a lot of Kevin Greene — technically sound, best motor in the league, will outwork you for sacks,” an NFL coordinator said. “Doesn’t have the elite traits of some of the others but his traits are still high end.”
Crosby is constantly in the backfield, leading the NFL in tackles for loss in back-to-back years (22 and 23, respectively).
So what does Crosby need to do to enter the top four of this list? Well, it would help if the Raiders could get back to the postseason as all four players ahead of him made the playoffs last season. And it wouldn’t hurt to post more sacks, even if they aren’t the best measure for judging a pass rusher.
But Crosby is already viewed as one of the top defenders in the league, and now it’s just a matter of how elite he can be in Las Vegas.