Las Vegas Raiders star defensive end is one of the biggest steals of the NFL Draft in recent memory. A fourth-round pick in 2019, Crosby has quickly become one of the premier defenders in the NFL, even if he doesn’t always get the recognition he deserves.
He was not a highly-touted player coming out of Eastern Michigan despite being a First Team All-Mac selection in his last two collegiate seasons. Crosby went on a number of different team visits throughout the draft process, one of which was with the Miami Dolphins.
But apparently, Crosby’s time in Miami went so bad that he told his agent to tell the Dolphins not to draft him, as he revealed in a recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show via Mike Masala of Dolphins Wire:
“Pat (Graham) was in Miami when I was coming into the league,” Crosby said. “I was going on my top-30 visits, and I was in Miami. For the most part, my trip to Miami, I’m not going to lie, was rough. All of the coaches were super hard on me. I told my agent after, I’m like ‘I don’t want to come here. Tell Miami don’t draft me.’ But, my one meeting at Miami that I liked was Pat Graham…”
Sometimes things come full circle, as now Patrick Graham is Crosby’s defensive coordinator with the Raiders. While he didn’t reveal exactly what went so wrong to make him feel that way, things ultimately worked out for Crosby.
If the Dolphins were intent on drafting Crosby, they would have had to do so much earlier than when the Raiders got him. Miami’s last pick before Crosby went off the board came in the third round when they took guard Michael Deiter with the 78th overall selection, 28 spots ahead of Crosby. And the Dolphins didn’t have another pick until the fifth round, the 151st overall selection.
Ultimately it just wasn’t in the cards for Crosby to go to Miami, and he wound up right where he was meant to be in the silver and black of the Raiders. Despite not having a consistent edge rusher on the opposite side of him, Crosby continues to live in the opposing backfield and make life hell for quarterbacks.
The Raiders knocked this pick out of the park, and Crosby knew what was best for him and his career in not wanting to go to Miami at that time.
