The Las Vegas Raiders struck gold in the 2019 NFL Draft, selecting a number of talented players such as Josh Jacobs, Maxx Crosby, Clelin Ferrell, Trayvon Mullen, Hunter Renfrow and Johnathan Abram.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the bunch was Crosby, who was taken in the fourth round out of Eastern Michigan. Crosby really came on in the second half of the 2019 season and ranked second among all rookie with 10 sacks to go along with 47 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles.
Crosby actually outplayed Ferrell, who the Raiders received a lot of scrutiny for after reaching to draft him fourth overall in the first round.
While comparisons between the two are natural since they play for the same team and were drafted in the same year, Crosby says that he and Ferell are not concerned with that, via Tashan Reed of The Athletic:
“I can’t speak for Cle’ and he can’t speak for me but, obviously, we hear the s—,” Crosby said. “They’re gonna say what they want to say, but, at the end of the day, all that matters is the work we put in and the film we put out there. I just care about playing at the highest of my ability and I know that’s all Cle’ cares about. Being compared and all that stuff, it’s not surprising. It is what it is.
“People can say what they want, but we’re going to take care of business regardless.”
Ferrell played in 15 games his rookie season and had 38 total tackles, 4.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss, so the production wasn’t quite on par with Crosby. He is still just 23 years of age though so has plenty of time to continue developing to live up to his No. 4 overall pick status.
Regardless of their production on the field though, it has become clear that Crosby and Ferrell are very good friends off it. They gave themselves the nickname “Salt & Peppa” during the 2019 season, becoming favorites among the Raiders fanbase.
While the 2019 season was a good taste of NFL action for both players, expectations will be much higher in 2020 as the Raiders look to get back to the postseason. It won’t be easy without the luxury of in-person offseason workouts, but Crosby and Ferrell both seemed determined to continue to improve in 2020 and beyond to get the Raiders back to glory.
