Oakland Raiders: Maxx Crosby making a case for DROY

After a big game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Maxx Crosby of the Oakland Raiders now inserts himself into the DROY of the year conversation.

In the 2019 NFL draft, the Oakland Raiders selected two edge rushers in the top 125, one as the fourth overall pick (Clelin Ferrell) and the other in the fourth-round (Maxx Crosby). When the Raiders selected Ferrell fourth overall, many in the draft community were confused. Sure, he was good in college and was one of the more refined players coming out, but with who was still left on the board — Josh Allen and Brian Burns — it led to some controversy.

Now here we are, 10 games into Oakland’s season and Ferrell is not only getting out preformed by the two edge rushers drafted shortly after him (yes, he’s injured, nonetheless, he’s still underperforming), but he is being outperformed by his fellow teammate selected three rounds later — Maxx Crosby.

In the Raider’s first four games, Crosby was seeing the field on an average of 33.25% of Oakland’s defensive snaps. In the last five games (excluding the Bengals game), he’s on the field for 88.4% of their snaps, a 55% increase.

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During the preseason, Crosby suffered a hand injury in the Raider’s first game and unfortunately was forced to sit out the entire preseason. If you didn’t know, the preseason in the NFL is 4 games long, which is exactly how long it took Crosby to get acclimated to the big league. If he would have gotten a full preseason, the Defensive Rookie of the Year campaign may have been a one-horse race.

Crosby still has to fend off the second-overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers, Nick Bosa, but if Crosby can keep stuffing the stat sheets, he may start to run away with the award. As it sits, Crosby is only 0.5 a sack (Bosa-7, Crosby 6.5)  away from catching Bosa; however, Bosa is still leading the entire NFL in total QB pressures.

To Bosa’s advantage, he saw the field more at the beginning of the season, but now that Crosby is getting the love he deserves from the coaching staff in Oakland, it makes for an exciting race between the two bay area pass rushers.

Against the Bengals is when Crosby emerged, totaling four sacks, three tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and a forced fumble, his 3rd on the season. Crosby can attribute his success to his long arms and his nuance as a pass rusher. In the offseason, Crosby worked with Brandon Jordan, who teaches hand techniques to offensive and defensive lineman. According to a video posted to Jordan’s twitter, his teachings are translating.

Watching a rookie take what you taught him in practice and then utilizing it successfully is exactly what you want to see as a coach. If Crosby can continue to improve at the pace he is now, perhaps the Raider’s fourth-round pick will be better than their fourth overall pick.