There hasn’t been a defensive end in football better than Maxx Crosby this season. In his third year, Crosby has finally put it all together. He’s been dominant and disruptive, totaling 43 pressure. No other EDGE rusher in the league has more than 35.
However, Crosby hasn’t been tested yet by a great offensive tackle. Although it’s no fault of his own, the right tackles he has faced have been less than stellar. However, that will change this week when the Raiders host the Eagles.
In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they named the top individual matchups to watch heading into Week 7. That list includes Maxx Crosby against All-Pro Lane Johnson, who is back in the lineup this week for the Eagles. Here is what the site had to say about this upcoming battle:
“Crosby has faced one of the softer slates of opposing right tackles in the league through the first six weeks of the season. His matchups have included Alejandro Villanueva in his first start on the right side, Chukwuma Okorafor, Liam Eichenberg, Storm Norton, Elijah Wilkinson, Germain Ifedi and Bobby Massie. And Crosby has dominated that competition en route to a league-high 43 pressures.
Johnson, assuming he plays after returning to the team this week, clearly represents Crosby’s toughest test of the year. His 4.6% pressure rate allowed since 2016 ranks fourth among right tackles.”
Johnson might just be the best offensive tackle that Crosby will face all season. He has the size, length and athleticism to shut down the league’s best edge rushers.
If Crosby can continue to be productive against Johnson, it will signal that he isn’t just a product of a weak schedule. Instead, it will show that he is actually in the same tier of rushers as Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt and Joey Bosa. Needless to say, this should be a really fun matchup to watch on Sunday.
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