Which Raiders' Veteran Is One Of Best Draft Picks Ever

All-Time Great Value

The Raiders have struggled to draft the right players over the past decade or so, as they have routinely missed on high draft picks and mid-to-late draft picks. However, Las Vegas hit the jackpot when they drafted veteran defensive end Maxx Crosby in the 4th round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Jared Dubin of CBS Sports ranked players who presented their teams with significantly more value than their draft position suggested on the front end. Crosby was Dubin's selection at defensive end.

"As a fourth-round pick, Maxx Crosby was already pretty unlikely to become the type of player he's become. Especially when you consider that he was productive but not overwhelmingly so at Eastern Michigan. But his journey upon entering the league, where he struggled with alcohol issues and had to enter rehab in 2020, makes his ascension to these heights even more unlikely," Dubin said.

"Since then, all he's done is make four Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams (second team in both instances), racking up 42.5 sacks and 75 tackles for loss (leading the league in that stat twice) while tying Micah Parsons for the most pressures in the league over the last four years."

The Raiders will have a stable rotation of defensive ends and defensive tackles playing alongside Crosby this season. This should lead to even more production for a player in Crosby who produces enough as it is.

"Yeah, they're fighting every single day to get those reps, and I got a ton of amount of respect for them. They're competing head on. In practice, everyone's fighting for those reps, and in reality, it's open competition. [Thomas] Booker, he's come in and, I mean, he's been flying since day one," Crosby said.

"I freaking enjoy going to war with him. Obviously, Adam Butler, Jonah [Laulu], all those guys, they're young, they got fresh legs, and it's been fun to start building that chemistry up. Started back in OTAs, and now get Booker in here. We're working every day trying to get it right. So it's been good."

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