Las Vegas Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby seems to believe that he and defensive tackle Christian Wilkins — who agreed to a four-year, $110 million deal with the team back in March — will make life difficult for NFL offenses together.
“They had Christian last year — unfortunately, they let him go,” Maxx said of the Miami Dolphins. “But he’s with me now. So, we’re about to ‘f—–‘ destroy people.”
Crosby — who finished fourth in the NFL’s AP Defensive Player of the Year voting last season — had a compelling case for being the NFL’s most effective defensive player during the 2023 regular season. He appeared in every one of Las Vegas’ 17 games and led the entire league in tackles for loss for the second season in a row, as he accumulated 23 in total.
In addition to his success in racking up tackles for losses last season, he also finished with 90 combined tackles, 55 solo tackles, 35 assisted tackles and 31 quarterback hits in his fifth season in the NFL.
He served as the linchpin for a Raiders defense that allowed the ninth-fewest points per game of any team in the league at 19.5.
But Las Vegas’ defense is arguably even better on paper than it was in the year 2023 now that Wilkins is a member of the team.
Wilkins spent each of his first five seasons in the league with the Miami Dolphins organization, and he showcased a penchant for sacking quarterbacks in his swan song with the team. He totaled nine sacks during the 2023 regular season, which marked the third-most of any player on the team behind only Bradley Chubb and Zach Sieler, both of whom finished with 10-plus sacks.
But despite Wilkins’ play on the defensive side of the ball, Miami’s defense still left a lot to be desired as a whole last season. After all, the Dolphins allowed a whopping 23 points per game.
Fans of the Raiders will have an opportunity to see Crosby and Wilkins take the field together in a regular-season game for the first time when Las Vegas takes on the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 8 in what will be a road game for the Raiders.
