Maxx Crosby is coming off his first Pro Bowl season as he led the NFL in multiple stat categories, including pressures, QB hits and hurries. But in order for him to take the next step as a pass rusher, he has to find a way to bring down the quarterback more often.
During the 2021 season, Crosby finished the year with just eight sacks. While sacks certainly aren’t the end-all, be-all for pass rushers, it would be nice to see him finish with double-digit sacks again.
So what are the odds that he could lead the NFL in sacks this season? In a recent piece by Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report, he made the bold prediction that Crosby would finish inside the top five in sacks during the 2022 season. Here is a snippet of his reasoning below:
“Crosby might not have always finished the play, but he finished 10th in pass-rush win rate, per ESPN, and led the league in total pressures, per Next Gen Stats.
Sack totals are typically the gaudy number that gets edge-defenders recognized, but it’s hardly the best tool for measuring a player’s impact.
Crosby got little support from the interior of the defensive line. That should change with the additions of Vernon Butler, Bilal Nichols and rookies Neil Farrell and Matthew Butler.”
The addition of Chandler Jones should really help Crosby as offenses can’t just double him on every play. That will leave more one-on-one opportunities for Crosby, giving him more chances for sacks.
The Raiders don’t need Crosby to lead the NFL in sacks to have a successful defense. Instead, they just need him to continue to rack up the pressures and turn a few more of them into sacks. If he can do that, the Raiders should be just fine on that side of the ball.