Silver Minings: Maxx Crosby reveals his secret to becoming an elite run defender

The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen sat down with the Pro Bowler

Over the last two seasons, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby has made tremendous strides as a run defender. That was a weakness at the beginning of his career as he posted PFF run defense grades of 58.8 and 56.1 in years one and two, but has turned that around with marks of 79.5 and 82.5 in the last couple of campaigns.

The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen recently interviewed Crosby about his improvement against the ground game, and Crosby revealed what he did to get better.

“For me, I just got better and better and better because I’m just paying more and more attention to the details. And it’s not just on the field, it’s off the field as well — like my nutrition, my grip strength after every single workout. Like this morning, I did a grip workout and my arms are literally about to fall off my body, but things like that matter in the run game,” Crosby said. “It takes a million practice reps to get one game rep right, so that’s how serious I take it, and that’s something I learned from (former Raiders defensive line coach Rod) Marinelli, who just ran everyday drills that I’m constantly repeating and fine tuning.”

You can find the full interview via the following hyperlink and I’d highly recommend giving it a read.

In other Raiders’ links:

• Crosby named Raiders most underrated player: CBS Sports wrote: “Like Trey Hendrickson, he’s been a steady terror off the edge, only to pale in comparison to guys like Nick Bosa and T.J. Watt in terms of QB-hunting recognition. In his four NFL seasons, he’s combined for 37.5 sacks, 65 tackles for loss (including an NFL-leading 22 in 2022) and 93 QB hits. The man stays in opposing pockets, often single-handedly giving life to Vegas’ “D.””
• Tyree Wilson’s rare opportunity: “Only four of the Las Vegas Raiders’ first-round picks over the last 20 years have been selected to a Pro Bowl in their career,” writes Sports Illustrated’s Aidan Champion.
• Mike Lombardi leaks details on Jimmy Garoppolo: “They knew he would be ready for training camp, but he wasn’t going to be in the offseason program. This was decided back in April and so, therefore, they deferred the signing bonus until he can pass the physical, which he will and I think he’s on track to do that,” Lombardi said on the Pat McAfee show via Heavy.com.
• 3 Pressing Concerns As Training Camp Approaches: the Raider Ramble dives into a few big questions ahead of training camp.