Raiders News: Maxx Crosby Reflects On Rookie Season, Future With Organization

The Oakland Raiders’ 2019 season was an up-and-down year, to say the least. From the drama of Antonio Brown, to the historic hurdles surpassed by both Derek Carr and Josh Jacobs, the season was one to remember.

Although the Raiders missed the playoffs once again, the future is looking bright. In particular, Maxx Crosby has shined brighter than anyone could have expected.

Crosby emerged to be one of the Raiders’ most energetic defenders and used that energy, along with raw talent, to wreak havoc on opposing offenses. Now that his rookie year is over, Crosby took time to reflect on his season, via Scott Blair of NBC Sports:

“I think I’ve taken strides,” Crosby said. “The main thing is mentally being confident and trusting my technique and trusting coaches. That allows you to play 100 miles per hour. That takes time, and I feel like I finally started to get in a groove.”

Although Crosby still hopes to gain confidence, he appeared to plenty of it during his many highlight-reel plays in 2019. Crosby ended up leading the Raiders and was second among rookies in sacks with 10. Only Josh Allen of the Jacksonville Jaguars finished with more at 10.5.

The Raiders emerged as a physically imposing team on both sides of the ball in 2019, and Crosby helped lead the defensive end of that. Between himself and fellow rookie Clelin Ferrell, the Raiders defensive line will be carrying some weight moving forward.

Although Ferrell did not end up having a season that many would expect the No. 4 overall pick to have, Crosby more than picked up the slack. He believes that the Raiders defense will grow into a formidable foe for the seasons to come:

“We’re off to a good start, but we have tons of room to grow,” Crosby said. “It didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to [with a playoff spot], but we’re going to keep working hard and get one.”

The Raiders nearly made the playoffs for the first time in three years. Although it has been a rough patch in franchise history, it appears that brighter days are ahead, largely thanks to the substantial influx of young talent. Between the likes of Ferrell and Crosby on the defensive end and Jacobs holding down the offensive side of things, the Raiders should be back in postseason contention in 2020.

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