It was a down year all around for the Las Vegas Raiders and a big reason for that was injuries. The team got blasted with major injuries early and often all season.
Prior to 2024, defensive end Maxx Crosby had never missed a single game at the NFL level. That changed last year as he was forced to miss five and was clearly banged up for most of the game. This led to him having a down year by his standards.
He still finished with 7.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss. It's not a surprise Crosby wasn't in the mix for an All-Pro team or Defensive Player of the Year but what is a surprise is that people seem to have forgotten how good he is when he's healthy.
Pro Football Focus just put together a list of the top 101 players from the 2024 season. Tight end Brock Bowers was the only Raider to make the list at all. Notably, Crosby's name was nowhere to be found.
Surely that had to be due to them disqualifying him because of games missed? Nope. Detroit Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson is on the list and he only played five games in 2024.
Now, to be fair, this list does appear to be truly based on the 2024 season. Patrick Mahomes is ranked all the way down at No. 39. However, Crosby was still one of the 101 best players last season.
Despite missing five games, he was tied for sixth in tackles for loss. Buffalo Bills pass rusher Greg Rosseau is on the list and he had 0.5 more sacks than Crosby and one fewer tackle for loss while playing in four more games.
It's difficult to understand why Crosby was ignored on the list but Pro Football Focus' rankings are always baffling. Crosby is going to have a major chip on his shoulder heading into 2025.