3 hidden gems on the Las Vegas Raiders roster

1. Maxx Crosby is an improving pass rusher

Amid many recent first-round draft mistakes by the Raiders, Crosby has been quite a find. A fourth-round pick (No. 106 overall) out of Eastern Michigan in 2019, he posted 10 sacks and 16 tackles for loss as a rookie with an AFC Defensive Player of the Week award after a four-sack game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Crosby followed that up by leading the Raiders with seven sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits last year. No other player had more than three sacks, and linebacker Nicholas Morrow was the only one to reach that mark. The addition of Yannick Ngakoue will be very helpful to the Las Vegas pass rush, and Ngakoue is very optimistic about pairing up with Crosby.

“I think Maxx and myself are the best duo that’s going to come hit the scene — and I’m already putting that out there,”

The question of whether he’s now part of the best defensive end duo in the league is easy to answer (no, or at least not yet). But Crosby has been under the radar productive in a bad Raiders’ defense over the last couple of years, and he deserves better acknowledgment for what he’s doing. When he gets back to double-digit sacks this year, don’t be surprised.