Las Vegas Raiders: Candidates for first Pro Bowl next season

Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby

Maxx Crosby had a tremendous rookie season, as he finished the year with ten sacks, 14 QB hits, and 16 tackles for loss, which put him in line as a potential Rookie of the Year candidate. The award deservedly went to Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers, but Crosby was an incredible contributor, especially relative to his draft position.

This year, Crosby has six sacks, ten QB hits, and 11 tackles for loss through 14 games, so he is on pace for slightly worse numbers than 2020. Much of that has to do with the Raiders’ overall struggles in generating a pass rush, and the added attention he has received from opposing offenses.

There has also been a lot of turnover in the interior defensive line, so he has not been able to count on the likes of Mo Hurst generating a pass rush up the middle consistently.

Despite these struggles, Crosby has still had a good season and still has two games to add to his statistical totals. Next season, if the Raiders actually improve their pass rush, then he can make a strong case to get his first Pro Bowl selection because there will be less attention on him, and he could break that double-digit sack mark yet again.

Pro Bowl voting for defensive ends is not just based on sack totals, but if it were, Crosby should be able to make another push to be selected as the Raiders’ resident sack artist. He was dinged this year for playing on a terrible defense but he is improving every week and could be a worthy selection in 2021.