Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby had one scholarship offer out of high school. Now, he’s a three-time Pro Bowler and only four players have more than his 52 sacks since Crosby entered the league in 2019.
In one of the NFL’s best one-on-one matchups this week, Crosby is expected to line up opposite rookie Joe Alt when the Raiders open 2024 at SoFi Stadium against the Chargers on Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS). Alt, the 24th overall selection in the first round, is a key pillar in his club’s efforts to better protect Justin Herbert.
Alt and the Chargers have had months to prepare for Crosby, who had two sacks in his last trip to Los Angeles. And they’ve likely seen on film the same trait his college coach saw long before he joined the Raiders.
“It was his first step,” said Eastern Michigan assistant Herb Haygood this week on Hondo Carpenter’s Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast, “which you are seeing in the NFL right now. “Even though he didn’t have the weight, he had that first step which, we say, you can’t coach that. You either have it or you don’t.”
Tyree Wilson had plenty of scholarship offers before starting at Texas A&M. After transferring to Texas Tech, Las Vegas selected him seventh overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. But Wilson had just 3½ sacks in his rookie season. If the team can get a solid Year 1-to-Year 2 jump from Wilson, complementing Crosby on the other side, the Raiders could affect the young quarterbacks in the AFC West.
The season doesn’t get easier for RaiderNation. Following Sunday’s opener, Las Vegas travels to Baltimore in Week 2 to meet a well-rested Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on Sept. 15.