There are just five weeks left in the NFL season and that means we will soon be getting Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections. So that begs the question; do the Raiders have anyone worthy of making the All-Pro Team in 2021?
The answer to that question is an unequivocal yes. Maxx Crosby is having a dominant season for the Raiders as he leads the NFL in pressures. He’s transformed their defense and has allowed them to slow down some elite offenses this year.
In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they revealed their All-Pro picks after three-quarters of the season. Not surprisingly, Crosby made the list despite less-than-stellar sack totals. Here is what the site had to say about the elite defensive end for the Raiders:
“Crosby has feasted on a sequence of bad offensive tackles this season but critically maintained that excellent play against better competition. He leads the league in total pressures, with 76 — 16 more than anybody else, regardless of position. He is on pace to be one of the few players in the PFF era to eclipse 100 pressures in a season. He has topped double-digit pressures three times this year and hasn’t been blanked in a single game. His past two outings were against better offensive lines in Dallas and Washington, and he still notched five pressures in each game.”
Crosby doesn’t have the sack totals of someone like Myles Garrett or T.J. Watt, but he’s been just as good this season. He’s found ways to be disruptive and it’s led to the Raiders having a better defense than usual.
With a strong finish to the season, Crosby should lock up his spot in the Pro Bowl and should get All-Pro consideration. It will be fascinating to see how the All-Pro voters weigh sacks versus pressures at the end of the season as Crosby has been far more consistent than Garrett and Watt.
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