Maxx Crosby needs to be the NFL 2023 Defensive Player of the Year.
Al Davis once said, “I’ve always believed that somewhere within the first 5 to 10 plays of a game the other team’s quarterback must go down, and he must go down hard.” Nobody this season has epitomized that stronger than Maxx Crosby.
If there was ever a player who could have played in today’s game and in the days of old-school football, that player would be Maxx Crosby. He’s a generational player which is putting it lightly.
Maxx Crosby has been on an absolute tear this season. Nobody has been as impressive as Crosby this season. He has almost single-handedly transformed a Raiders defense from the 32nd-ranked unit to a defense that is at least slightly respectable. Given that the Raiders haven’t had a top-20 defense since 2006, that’s no small feat.
Before getting into the counting stats, of which Maxx Crosby has been absolutely crushing this season, let’s look at who Maxx Crosby is as a player and a leader on the Raiders. Right now, there’s nobody more deserving of winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award than “Madd Maxx.”
Making the Case for Maxx Crosby
Raiders Edge Rusher Maxx Crosby (98) – David Becker/AP Photo
Maxx Crosby is the cornerstone of the Raiders organization right now. After getting rid of longtime quarterback Derek Carr, Crosby has effectively stepped into that leadership role. He’s the captain of the team right now and he’s the biggest reason why the defense has been producing. The defense is also the biggest reason why the team has won any games this season.
The team has an entirely new vibe and motivation to them. With Crosby, the team has a high-energy leader who has turned around the defense in spite of having to deal with his head coach getting fired halfway through the season. That’s something that no other DPOTY candidate has had to deal with.
Crosby has managed to keep this team together through his toughness and his nonstop motor as well. Crosby has never played less than 95% of snaps in any season of his career since coming into the league in 2019. Nobody else in the league on the defensive side of the ball is as consistent as he is. He gives 120% every single play and players see that and are definitely inspired by his effort. Crosby has the will to win and can dominate games like few others.
On Sunday Night Football against the Jets, the NBC broadcast pointed out something remarkable. The next highest sack total of any individual player on the Raiders behind Crosby is 2. He’s essentially a one-man army as a pass rusher.
By comparison, let’s compare that to Nick Bosa, Micah Parsons, and TJ Watt, 3 of the top edge rushers in the league. All of them have at least one other major pass rusher helping them from the other side. Bosa has Chase Young, Parsons has Demarcus Lawrence, and Watt has Alonzo Highsmith. All of those players are at minimum Pro Bowl-caliber players.
Crosby’s main pass-rushing partner this season is Malcomn Koonce, a decent player as a rotational piece but not at the level of Young, Lawrence, or Highsmith.
The other players mentioned also have much better defenses to help out as well. While the Raiders defense this season has been much improved, the 49ers, Cowboys, and Steelers have better defenses. The 49ers and Cowboys are among the top 5 defenses in the league and help out Parsons and Bosa considerably.
Raiders Edge Rusher Maxx Crosby (98) – Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports
Another great candidate for DPOTY is Myles Garrett. While Garrett is an absolute monster, the Browns have an absolutely phenomenal defense as well which helps contribute to his success. But even with a great supporting cast, Garrett is absolutely dwarfed statistically by Crosby.
Speaking of stats, let’s look at the competition. Crosby currently has more QB pressures, tackles for loss, stops, tackles, hurried passes, and safeties than the following Defensive Player of the Year candidates; Myles Garrett, TJ Watt, and Micah Parsons. Crosby is also just behind Garrett and Watt in sacks and QB hits, ranking 2nd and 4th in each respective category.
Crosby is also 2nd in the league in the amount that he gets double-teamed by the opposing team’s blocking schemes, seeing them at 28.8% of the time which is just behind Parsons at 30%.
According to Football Reference statistics, Crosby at the time of this writing has 59 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery 1 safety, and 13 tackles for loss. He’s done everything at an extremely high level except intercept a pass, and who knows even that might happen this season.
Crosby is having an amazing season. He deserves to be commended and he deserves to become the first Raider since Lester Hayes in 1980 to win the Defensive Player of the Year.
