Raiders’ Maxx Crosby doesn’t want to be treated with kid gloves

The last thing Maxx Crosby wanted going into his second NFL season was a new position coach trying to butter him up with a bunch of compliments.

A classic overachiever who has been doubted since high school, the Raiders defensive end operates with a perpetual chip on his shoulder.

Never mind that he made NFL evaluators look foolish by outplaying his fourth-round draft status with 10 sacks, 47 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 35 hurries and four forced fumbles in 10 rookie starts. Or how that lofty performance makes him one of the league’s most promising young defensive ends.

That stuff is just poison as far as Crosby is concerned. The outside doubt fuels him. He thrives on the skepticism. Any sort of overly positive feedback would throw that whole balance out of whack, especially coming from his immediate boss.

Good thing for Crosby then that the Raiders hired Rod Marinelli to be their defensive line coach this year. An NFL coaching lifer with a history of developing defensive linemen, Marinelli is crustier than a day old slice of pizza.

And if the first week or so of training camp is any indication, don’t expect many compliments.

For Crosby, it’s a match made in football heaven.

“The thing I love about him is he keeps it real, and he pushes me every day,” Crosby said. “That’s one thing I want. Just because I had one good year, I don’t want a coach to be nice and overdo everything. That’s not me. That’s not my personality.”

Marinelli is already having an effect on his young pupil.

“The No. 1 thing is effort. He wants us to spring to the ball like crazy,” Crosby said. “So me personally, I’ve been trying to overemphasize running to the ball, and I know the other guys are, too. I’m trying to set that example. As far as technique, he wants us getting off the ball and reacting. He doesn’t want us thinking too much. He doesn’t want us worried about this and that.

“I love his coaching style. I think he’s going to help everyone on this D-line.”

Monday was Crosby’s third day back since returning from the COVID-19 injured reserve list and first time talking to the media since testing positive Aug. 8.

Crosby took one question about his experience with the coronavirus, but made it clear he didn’t want to get into specifics.

“I’m perfectly fine,” he said. “They’re working with me. I’m getting back. I would love to talk about football.”

For Crosby, the focus is all football. Specifically, how the rebuilt defense can improve to the point that the franchise can legitimately contend for the playoffs.

The turnaround begins up front, where Crosby and fellow second-year defensive end Clelin Ferrell are joined by new interior starter Maliek Collins and backed up by free-agent pickup Carl Nassib, a productive pass rusher.

Crosby has already noticed a deeper, more talented group.

“We literally are completely different up front now,” he said. “We have guys that can truly rush the passer and guys that play the game at the level we need to. … We have a bunch of guys that love to play the game.”

The upgrades extend to linebacker, where the Raiders invested in free agents Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski, and in the secondary, where free-agent safety Damarious Randall joins young, promising defensive backs Johnathan Abram, Trayvon Mullen, Damon Arnette and Amik Robertson.

“You’ve got to give a huge shoutout to (general manager Mike) Mayock and (coach Jon) Gruden for getting these guys in our building,” Crosby said.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.