Maxx Crosby. The Condor. More commonly known by the Raider Nation as “Mad Maxx”, something you would call a madman whenever the Quarterbacks dare to say “HIKE!” Maxx Crosby has made a name for himself within Las Vegas as well as Raiders franchise history. An unexpected Super-Star, believed to come out of the league as a career-backup, only to immediately show the football realm what he is capable of. However, there has been a major problem throughout Maxx Crosby’s career, causing the Condor to slowly build up more and more fury within his composure. This problem: The NFL underrating Maxx Crosby. Many would disagree with this topic, that either the League has accurately rated Crosby, or the Raiders franchise has overrated the Defensive End. What will be in discussion within this text, from the NFL Draft to the Present Day, is a thorough explanation focusing on Crosby’s overshadowed production.
The 2019 NFL Draft
Many know the story, 4th Round Pick, the unpredicted steal of the 2019 NFL Draft. However, how did Crosby end up outside of the Top 100 NFL Draft Picks? The obvious reason would be Crosby’s unhealthy addiction to alcoholic beverages. Worried to be a cancer to the locker room by a few analysts and scouting departments. Despite that crystal-clear thought, Crosby was still a natural disaster-like being against opposing offenses.
Maxx Crosby’s College Statistics (2017-2019) (Source: ProCollegeReference.com + PFF.com)
(Disclaimer: Only 2 out of 3 of Maxx Crosby’s will be presented due to Crosby being a rotational-backup his first College-Season ; Games vs Statistics can deceive people)
● College-Games: 24
● Total Defensive Snaps: 1312
○ Total Tackles: 127
■ Solo Tackles: 62
■ Tackles For Loss: 35.5
○ Forced Fumbles: 8
■ Recovered Fumbles: 3
● Defensive Touchdowns: 1
● Pass-Rushing Snaps: 625
○ Sacks: 19
■ QB-Hits: 23
■ Hurries: 72
○ Batted-Down Passes: 4
○ Interceptions: 1
■ Defensive Touchdowns: 1
Looking at the numbers, Crosby was no slouch. In fact, Crosby in the Mid-American Conference is 11th in Tackles for Loss, 17th in Sacks, and 5th in Forced Fumbles within the Conference’s All-Time Career History (Fun Fact: Khalil Mack is Top 3 in each category). Maxx Crosby was even awarded as a back-to-back 1st-Team All-MAC of the year (being the 3rd defensive player in Eastern Michigan history to accomplish this). Crosby was also awarded as Eastern Michigan’s 2017 MVP. This production provided Crosby the ability of being noticed by several NFL scouts and fans within NFL franchises. In addition, the NFL Combine invited Maxx Crosby to participate in order to gain media attention and possibly raise his draft stock.
Maxx Crosby’s NFL Combine Results (Source: MockDraftable.com)
(Disclaimer: The Percentile Results are based on Maxx Crosby vs current/former Defensive Linemen who have had their results evaluated within the NFL Combine)
● Physical Measurements:
○ Height: 6’4⅞” ; 78th Percentile
○ Weight: 255lbs ; 11th Percentile
○ Wingspan: 81” ; 67th Percentile
○ Arm Length: 32⅞” ; 33rd Percentile
○ Hand Size: 9¾” ; 39th Percentile
● Athletic Measurements:
○ 40-Yard Dash: 4.66s ; 91st Percentile
○ 20-Yard Shuttle: 4.13s ; 96th Percentile
○ 60-Yard Shuttle: 11.35s ; 99th Percentile
○ 3-Cone Drill: 6.89s ; 96th Percentile
○ Vertical Jump: 36” ; 89th Percentile
○ Broad Jump: 122” ; 91st Percentile
Taking a short glance at Crosby’s Combine performance out of context, Crosby should’ve been at worst a mid Day-2 Pick in the NFL Draft. This claim would also be supported by the NFL’s own analysts, who gave Maxx Crosby an Athleticism Score of 85. Those results lead to an official rating for Maxx Crosby being deemed as arguably possessing an unmatchable type of athleticism within the entire Draft Class of 2019. However, despite these results, Crosby was still picked outside the Top 100. Another explanation for Crosby’s Draft placement would be the size and popularity of the school he attended, Eastern Michigan. Eastern Michigan is a College within the MAC Conference of the NCAA, it is relatively a small college within a not-so-popularized conference of the Football Realm. Since 2003, less than 10 Eastern Michigan Alumni have been drafted into the NFL. To help everyone equally understand how the school you attend can also affect your draft stock, here is an examination of the 2023 NFL Draft.
2023 NFL Draftees NCAA Conferences (Source: NCAA.com)
If there can be one more piece added to the disrespect on the Condor’s talent, production, and potential, the NFL rated Maxx Crosby with a Prospect grade of 5.9/10. A 5.9/10 in the NFL’s grading system equalizes to a career-backup in the NFL. NFL Analysts, Lance Zierlein, projected Maxx Crosby as a 6th Round pick equivalent to Max Valles (didn’t play a single snap in the NFL). Read out loud by Maxx Crosby himself (on NFL Youtube + Instagram), Maxx Crosby’s Scouting Report Summary states:
“Developmental, long-limbed defensive end who needs a year or two of bulking up before he’s ready to see the field. He’s long and flexible and will flash on tape as both a rusher and run defender and those traits could outweigh his poor contact balance and play strength for some teams. If he grows into his gangly frame, Crosby offers a higher ceiling than some Day 3 prospects he could be lumped in with.”
Rookie Campaign (2019-20 NFL Season)
A statement voiced many times before, no one expected the Condor to feed upon opposing offenses during his chaotic Rookie Campaign. Bulldozing, swinging, flying across the field. It gave the “Silver & Black” franchise a flashback of former Raider, Khalil Mack, providing hope for the future. However, outside of the Raider Realm, many believed Crosby was not as good as other individuals.
Maxx Crosby’s Rookie-Year Statistics
● 16 Games ; 10 as Starter
● 750 Defensive Snaps ; 72% of Defense’s Total Snaps
● 155 Special-Team Snaps ; 36% of Special-Teams’ Total Snaps
○ Total Tackles: 47
■ Solo Tackles: 36
■ Tackles For Loss: 16
○ Runs-Stuffed: 11
■ Runs-Stuffed Yardage: -33 [ negative = good ]
○ Forced Fumbles: 4
○ Batted-Down Passes: 4
○ Sacks: 10
■ QB-Hits: 14
■ Hurries: 16
■ Pressures: 31
Surprisingly for many who do not know, no matter how good Crosby’s Rookie-Year was, he was 2nd in the Defensive Rookie of the Year votes. A runner-up to Nick Bosa, who was also honored with the 2020 Pro-Bowl selection. This will not be any discredit to Nick Bosa. Amazing player, has the capability to put himself in a Hall of Fame type of career if he keeps his current
momentum. However, comparing the stats, there is some head-scratching to be made.
Maxx Crosby vs Nick Bosa: Rookie Statistics (Source: ESPN.com + ProFootballReference.com)
Noticing how nearly identical both Crosby and Bosa’s Rookie-Year Stats are, it is a shock that the Defensive Player of the Year vote resulted with Bosa receiving 43/50 votes (86%), while Crosby received only 4 votes (8%). This had left few to many questions: Why was Bosa’s campaign loved, while Crosby’s campaign was ditched to the curb? Would a tie be possible to award? Why wasn’t Crosby also awarded a Pro-Bowl selection? … All these questions would either be left unanswered or pushed to the side by the NFL media. This wouldn’t be the last time where the NFL has Maxx Crosby overshadowed by others.
The 2022-23 NFL Season
Raider Nation will generationally recall how the Raiders recent NFL Season resulted. But, let’s look at the positives rather than the negatives for now. Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs broke 20+ year old records. Both, along with Daniel Carlson, were selected for the 2023 1st-Team All-Pro Bowl. However, there is a problem with how the selections for the Pro-Bowl went this year. Maxx Crosby was selected into the Pro-Bowl, but was not selected into the All-Pro Teams. To help everyone equally understand why this is a problem:
Maxx Crosby’s 2022-23 Season Statistics (Source: ESPN.com + ProFootballReference.com)
Despite producing the 2nd best overall D-Line Stats, and top numbers overall defensively, Crosby was 4th out of any D-Linemen in the Defensive Player of the Year votes (including receiving zero 1st Place votes, while three have). This also supports the claims, these claims being that Crosby was snubbed from being an All-Pro selection (at least 2nd-Team selections). This is how the NFL has given less flowers than Crosby deserves. A player, who exceeds (non-raider) expectations since College, is overshadowed by others.
Madd Maxx knows this himself, for the reason that the day after the announcements of All-Pro Team selections, these were the reactions of both Maxx Crosby and Davante Adams:
Final Statements
To conclude this discussion, a request shall be asked, agree or not… Do you believe Maxx Crosby’s value has been overlooked? Remember, everyone has a right to a different perspective, opinion, and claims, as long as they are consistent and thoroughly thought out. The opinion within this text, can be a fact to many, while being a claim to others. The only thing that is truly a fact, are what the results (and the context of those results) present. To add one more piece to this discussion, this can be additional supporting evidence to some, or an opposing verification to others.
However, this will be a illustrating question to all:
Do You Agree, or Disagree? If You Could, What Would You Change?
Raiders Stats Contact
