Maxx Crosby broke out as a superstar last year, but might be even better this season

By Case Keefer (contact)

Monday, Aug. 22, 2022 | 2 a.m.

One of the first calls Patrick Graham made upon accepting the Raiders’ defensive coordinator job this offseason was to incumbent Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby. Graham wanted Crosby to know that a priority of the new defense would be putting him “in the right position.”

A month into training camp, it’s clear Graham has delivered on that promise. Graham has lived up to his reputation for throwing multiple different looks but all of them appear unified in their emphasis to spotlight Crosby who’s been a consistent menace to the offense in full-team drills.

The fourth-year veteran who signed a near $100 million extension earlier this year is constantly driving offensive linemen backwards, deflecting passes and getting to the quarterbacks. He’d have a double-digit sack count if he was allowed to hit quarterbacks.

“He sets the standard for our work ethic, the way we practice, how we go about our jobs, how he is in meetings,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. “It’s everything you want from a player trying to ascend.”

Crosby doesn’t have much higher to climb on paper as he broke out last year with an NFL-leading 100 pressures and graded as the second-best edge rusher in the league behind only Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, according to Pro Football Focus. Players that make that large of a one-year leap tend to plateau or even decline the next season because it’s so hard to annually reach such heights in the NFL.

Crosby might be the rare case that defies such laws of regression and gravity. No one who’s watched, or even listened to, him through the first month of Raiders’ training camp could possibly be calling for a drop-off.

He set some lofty goals after signing his new contract in March, saying he was shooting to solidify himself as one of the NFL’s best year after year and ultimately reach the Hall of Fame. But Crosby vowed “no more talking” going into the season and instead focused intensely on his process and mentality.

“I try to get my mind to a different place because once you start training camp, you’ve got to be in a different place mentally,” he said. “It’s here now, so it’s super exciting. Every single year, it’s always a new challenge, new goals, new things going on.”

Crosby has noticeably partaken in some of the fruits of his labor. An avid mixed martial arts fan, he’s become a fixture cageside for the biggest UFC events. But he’s turned into more than a fan, training in boxing and at local MMA institution Xtreme Couture to get into better shape.

On social media, he’s shown off a custom silver-and-black Rolls Royce since securing his big payday. But that luxury vehicle has also been parked in one of the first spots at the Raiders’ Henderson facility every day of training camp and not because Crosby has claimed the stall as team captain.

Rather, it’s because he beats most of his teammates to work.

“There were certain things I wanted to take to another level, like as simple as just getting up earlier and being here earlier,” Crosby said. “And then, on off days, not just getting in the tubs and then going home. I'm going to do boxing, I'm going to do some core and just add little things into my routine, so that's what I've been doing.”

One of Crosby’s new defensive teammates is veteran safety Duron Harmon, who spent his first seven years in the league with the New England Patriots. When Harmon came to the Raiders, Crosby grilled him about how legendary quarterback Tom Brady prepares.

Crosby’s main takeaway from the conversation was Harmon telling him Brady has, ‘no such thing as an offseason.’ He’s tried to follow that example, committing even harder to the structure he bought into last offseason that’s helped him maintain his sobriety.

Crosby’s adherence to meal plans and weightlifting regimens implemented for him by the Raiders’ training staff has inspired teammates across the roster.

“Seeing how Maxx approaches the game with his nutrition, the way he works every single day, the way he goes every single play and the conditioning he does, that’s the kind of player I want to be,” offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. “That’s where I want to be. He wasn’t obviously the best with talent, but he worked for everything he got."

The veteran Eluemunor has spent much of camp competing with Brandon Parker (currently injured), Alex Leatherwood and Thayer Munford for playing time at right tackle. That means he’s taken plenty of snaps opposite of Crosby, another experience that he says has raised his game.

Eluemunor has often more than held his own too. In fact, if the starting role came down exclusively to who performed the best against Crosby, Eluemunor would probably win it.

It’s not easy getting in the way of Crosby, whose total of eight sacks last year was not representative of how often he affected opposing offenses. Sack totals are statistically proven to be less predictive going forward than measures like pressures where Crosby reigned.

All he’ll need this season is a little more luck or perhaps be a split-second quicker to register at least double the number of sacks in a scheme designed around his strengths. And so far in training camp, he looks like he’s picked up a step.

“He does everything every day that you could ask a player to do get himself better and help our team better,” McDaniels said. “There’s no greater compliment I can give him than that.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or