Raiders rookie Maxx Crosby got bigger, then he got better

ALAMEDA Calif — It seems almost absurd given the starting role defensive end Maxx Crosy has earned and the 7.5 sacks he’s accumulated through his first 11 NFL games. But almost as soon as he landed on the draft radar as a sophomore at Eastern Michigan two years ago, his weaknesses as an NFL prospect were highlighted more than his potential strengths.

Those concerns carried all the way into the draft. It’s why Crosby wasn’t picked until the fourth round.

According to two NFL team decision-makers familiar with the evaluation of Crosby, the lower level of competition he played against in the Mid-America Conference diminished the perceived value of his 18.5 sacks between 2018 and 2019. The evaluators say they thought he might not be stout enough to hold up against NFL offensive linemen on a down-to-down basis. His diminished production as a junior coming off a breakthrough sophomore season also raised their concerns.

“He definitely needed to get stronger in the run game and didn’t quite dominate the MAC his junior year as expected,” one NFL team’s draft executive said.

All of it got back to Crosby.

“I heard a lot of things,” Crosby said. “Technique wise, just like hopping out of gaps and trying to do too much. And obviously I heard about my weight every single day.”

It’s funny about criticism, though. You can either fight it by turning an angry ear or embrace it and make the necessary adjustments. Crosby chose the latter. It resulted in him reworking his body between the end of his junior year and the NFL Draft Combine and ultimately enhancing his draft prospects.

The body transformation included doing something completely counterintuitive to what he believed in college. At 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds Crosby worried that adding weight would negatively affect the one commodity that set him apart: His speed and agility.

“I always had this thing, mentally, that I didn’t want to gain weight because I felt I wouldn’t be the same. I wouldn’t be as fast,” Crosby said.

When, in fact, according to Crosby’s trainers at EXOS Combine Training, the opposite is often the case. The key, they said, is to add good weight rather than bad.

“And I give so much credit to the guys at EXOS,” Crosby said. “They do a great job getting the right food in you, specific to you. I knew I needed to gain weight, so they did a great job with me and put me in a great position to go out and perform.”

Crosby went from 235 pounds at the end of his junior year to 250 pounds at the combine, and his agility test results reflected the strength he added. His 4.66 40-yard dash was 10th best among defensive ends. He was second in the three-cone drill at 6.89 seconds and the 20-yard shuttle at 4.13 seconds. His 36-inch vertical jump was sixth-best at 36 inches.

“His testing numbers were very good,” a high-ranking NFL draft evaluator said.

In retrospect, the Raiders got a steal by drafting Crosby in the fourth round. At the time, though, that represented a bit of a surprise. Crosby was generally projected to go in the fifth round or below.

In spite of the remade body and improved test results, there still was uncertainty about Crosby. But the Raiders, sensing his draft climb, secured him a round or two ahead of his projection.

“What he doesn’t have yet is power,” Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said after the draft. “He doesn’t have strength yet, and he needs to develop that. When I got on the phone with him, I told him that his future was going to be dependent on a Gruden, but not the one he thought. It’s going to be (head coach Jon Gruden’s son and assistant strength and conditioning coach Deuce (Gruden). I wanted him to get philosophically connected at the hip with Deuce because he has to get stronger.”

The partnership between Deuce Gruden and Crosby - and getting on a steady NFL nutritional program is ongoing and has resulted in Crosby adding 20 more pounds since draft day. The strength and speed increase are evident.

“The nutritional side is so different in college, and now I have all the necessary resources to do it correctly,” Crosby said. “Now I’m at 270, and it’s a lot different. I feel I can carry the weight the right way if I’m eating the right foods.”

In addition to his sacks - including to the four he had two weeks ago against the Cincinnati Bengals - Crosby has 32 tackles, 12 quarterback hits and 21 quarterback pressures. Crosby still has work to do in the run game. The Raiders have fallen in that category since he was inserted into the starting lineup, going from fifth in NFL, giving up 86.7 yards per game, to 22nd at 125.4.

Crosby isn’t solely to blame, of course, but as he continues to develop his stoutness against the run needs to improve. The Raiders, though, are pleased with their rookie.

“I think Maxx is going to be great,” Jon Gruden said. “I mean he has, he has grown. He’s gained more confidence. He’s gotten stronger. He’s so confident in what he can do. I really think we’ve got something there with this Crosby.”

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