The Las Vegas Raiders are gearing up for a 2024 season that they will be hoping turns things around for a franchise that has drifted from its winning ways.
For a team to establish a winning culture, it all starts with its best player. For the Raiders, that is All-Pro defensive end Maxx Crosby, who is not only one of the team’s most talented players but has also solidified himself as its leader.
NFL.com’s Eric Edholm recently projected Crosby to be the Raiders’ MVP this coming season.
Here’s what Edholm had to say about the choice:
“I thought long and hard about Davante Adams here, as the Raiders present nearly the ideal situation for giving a wide receiver this honor.
The QB situation lacks pizzazz, but you could make a case for Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew combining to play solid ball while Adams puts up another banner season.
Truthfully, though, I felt like Adams was good, not great, in 2023, and this offense has just a few too many questions for me, overall.
“From there (no disrespect to left tackle Kolton Miller), I boiled this choice down to one of the Raiders’ two top-notch defensive linemen.
And as great as Christian Wilkins is individually, I went with Crosby because of his statistical dominance, and because of the fact that he’s generated game-changing plays at a higher rate throughout his career.
Bringing in Wilkins could do wonders for Crosby, who to this point has wreaked incredible havoc without having a ton of elite-level help alongside him.
There’s this worry in the back of my head that Crosby’s long-term longevity might become a concern in a few years, given that he’s been logging a lot of snaps lately, but I honestly wouldn’t put a 20-sack, 30-tackles-for-loss and five-forced-fumble type of season past him in 2024.
And the Raiders might need every single play they can get out of him, given that they currently seem to be built to try to win a lot of 20-17 games.”
Crosby was the right pick here. And it might not even be close.
While there are other players capable of being the Raiders’ “most valuable player,” Crosby, as all of Raider Nation knows, is the heart and soul of the team.
Crosby has improved every year he has been in the league so far, and he may just be at least a playoff win away from being considered the best edge rusher in the league.
