Examining Maxx Crosby’s IDP Dynasty Potential
The Khalil Mack trade to Chicago still lingers large for Jon Gruden and the now Las Vegas Raiders, who have spent the last two seasons trying to find pass rushers who can erase the painful memories of sending off one of the league’s absolute best edge players. The team acquired two first-round picks from that trade, with one of those being used on running back Josh Jacobs and the other yet to be made at pick 19 in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Raiders made two attempts in the 2019 draft to fill the void Mack left. First, they drafted Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell at four, which many felt was a reach considering guys like Josh Allen, Brian Burns, and Ed Oliver were still available. Three rounds later, they drafted Eastern Michigan defensive end Maxx Crosby in the fourth round with the 106th overall pick.
The team has a promising pass rusher after one season, but it isn’t Ferrell, at least not as of this writing. Ferrell disappointed in his rookie season; While he had eight TFL, he only had 4.5 sacks and eight QB hits while starting all 15 games he played. In comparison, Allen had 10.5 sacks, 11 TFL, and 23 QB hits, Burns had 7.5 sacks, five TFL and 16 QB hits despite only starting five games, and Oliver (a DT) had five sacks, five TFL, and eight QB hits with seven starts.
Crosby, on the other hand, had a more successful season, finishing with ten sacks, 16 TFL, and 14 QB hits. In FantasyData’s rankings, he had 118.45 fantasy points, the 51st-most of any defender, and he finished as the DL10 in the same data. This includes edge rushers as well as defensive tackles, so this finish was extremely impressive for a fourth-round rookie in a loaded class of defensive linemen,
A good portion of Crosby’s rookie season came in week 11 against the Bengals. There, he had four sacks (including three in the fourth quarter), the most from a Raiders player in a single game since Khalil Mack himself in 2015. But even when taking this game out of his season, Crosby still finished his rookie year with six sacks, 1.5 more than Ferrell.
Do the Raiders have something with Crosby? Will he end up becoming the worthy heir to Mack’s pass-rushing throne? Is he a worthy dynasty option in your IDP leagues? Let’s answer all of these questions now and analyze his tape to find out once and for all.
Crosby flashed decent athleticism for a fourth-round pass rusher in his rookie season. It wasn’t until the Bengals game that he caught the attention of the NFL, but in the meantime, he put up a few impressive plays before then.
Here he’s going up against Bears left tackle Charles Leno trying to get to backup QB Chase Daniel. He starts off with a little push, then as the snap progresses turns that push into a swim move, which gets him by Leno on the way to putting the smackdown on Daniel for the sack. It’s a great use of technique for the Eastern Michigan pass rusher, and this wound up being the very first sack of his young NFL career.
On this snap, Crosby can’t even be contained by double blocking. He starts off the snap with a glide move after two steps, which brings the attention of the Packers left guard to him. As Aaron Rodgers notices Crosby, he scoots out of the pocket in an attempt to find a receiver down the field. It’s too late, however, as Crosby manages to secure Rodgers and take him to the ground for the sack on the future Hall of Famer.
Now is time to show a clip from Crosby’s massive four-sack game against the Bengals. Cincinnati didn’t exactly have a powerhouse offensive line in 2019, but any effort from a pass rusher that results in a four sack game should be cherished for the rest of his existence.
Going against left tackle Jerry John, Crosby uses a counter chop to create outside leverage for himself. And here he doesn’t just sack Ryan Finley, he strip-sacks him as well. This ended up becoming Crosby’s only sack of the game outside his fourth-quarter surge, where he produced the remaining three.
This time, Crosby is up against Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson in what ended up becoming the last home game for the Raiders in Oakland. Two steps after the snap, Crosby surges left on a glide, managing to get inside the B-gap despite Robinson’s efforts. Quarterback Gardner Minshew is able to buy himself a little bit of time, but not before Crosby is able to secure him once and for all for the sack.
In spite of a good chunk of his sacks being from one game, I have faith in Maxx Crosby as a pass rusher. I’m not exactly sure he can outright replace Khalil Mack, but that has more to do with the fact that very few pass rushers can even play at Mack’s level in the first place. We’re talking about a generational talent at the position, so that a fourth-round rookie can even be compared to him with a straight face is honorable for Crosby.
With that said, Crosby has made more progress than Clelin Ferrell, who needs a lot of work before he can be at the level of play expected from a fourth overall pick. Crosby provided numerous flashes in his rookie season, and if you can get him for cheap in the middle rounds of your IDP drafts, he just might turn into quite the steal for you and your team.
I would not hesitate to make a move on Crosby, as any cheap, productive options in the NFL are bound to become valuable dynasty gems sooner or later. Who knows if he can continue producing double-digit sacks, but one thing is certain: The Raiders found a pleasant surprise with their fourth-round pick in 2019, and your dynasty team could as well.
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