If you were wondering if Maxx Crosby could improve on his 2021 breakout season, the answer is yes. Through four games, Crosby has already totaled four sacks and has racked up 23 pressures. He has an incredible pass-rush win rate of 18.5 percent, according to Pro Football Focus.
But the issue for the defense so far is their lack of pass rush outside of Crosby. No one else is getting home and that includes Chandler Jones.
In a recent article by ESPN, every beat writer was tasked with writing about the biggest issue on defense for their respective team. For Paul Gutierrez and the Raiders, it was not getting enough pass-rush outside of Crosby. Here is what he had to say about the lack of pass rush so far:
“Crosby has four of the Raiders’ five sacks — cornerback Nate Hobbs has the other — and while that’s a good early return on Las Vegas’ four-year, $98.98 million investment via the extension Crosby got this offseason, the Raiders need more from the defensive line in general, Chandler Jones in particular.
Jones has occupied double-teams and affected the passer, but for Crosby to remain effective, the Raiders would love for Jones, who signed a three-year, $51 million free-agent deal with Las Vegas this spring, to start getting home, too.”
The good news is that Jones is starting to play better, recording a quarterback hit in each contest. He still needs to do a better job of creating more consistent pressure and he is still searching for his first sack as a Raider.
But in the meantime, the Raiders need someone else to step up on the defensive line. If this defense wants to become one of the better units in the league, they can’t just rely on Crosby to be the only one to create a pass rush.
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