The Las Vegas Raiders have been an abysmal drafting team for two decades so they haven't had many homegrown players to build around. Luckily, they finally have a true franchise player who is young, under contract and one of the best at what he does in the NFL.
Defensive end Maxx Crosby has cemented himself as the Raiders' best and most important player. The best part? He's only 26 and only getting better. There aren't many true franchise players in the NFL. According to Bleacher Report, there are only 15. Kristopher Knox listed these franchise players and Crosby came in at No. 10.
"Over the past four years, Crosby has recorded 35 sacks, notched 58 tackles for loss and made three Pro Bowls," Knox wrote. "He's also received votes for Defensive Player of the Year in each of the past two seasons.
"Crosby now belongs in the same conversation as Garrett, T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons—and the 29-year-old Watt is the only one from that group who didn't make our list. At only 26 years old, there's still time for Crosby to beat all of them in DPOY voting."
Notably, Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons is the only defensive player ahead of Crosby on the list. There are also only three non-quarterbacks ahead of Crosby. The All-Pro defensive end is finally starting to get the respect he deserves.
He's been an impact player ever since his rookie season and there's a real chance he'll be the Raiders' all-time sack leader before he retires. If he gets 10.0 or more sacks this season, he'll jump to No. 3 on the team's all-time sack list. That's the exact type of player a team wants to build around.
The Raiders haven't had a lot of good things going for them in a long time but Crosby is a unique player who will be in the Hall of Fame one day if he doesn't slow down anytime soon. He's the definition of a franchise player.