The concern of whether Maxx Crosby will be a hands-in-the-dirt or stand-up pass rusher in Patrick Graham’s incoming defensive scheme has merit. The Las Vegas Raiders defensive end has spent the vast majority of his football career as a DE in a 4-3 alignment and a shift could disrupt Crosby’s development and progress.
But similar to what I’ve written about the other coaching additions to new Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels’ staff in the desert, Graham isn’t obtuse when it comes to his defense. He’ll deploy a scheme that’s not only agile to combat today’s NFL offenses, but he’s going to put his defenders in the best possible position to succeed.