Maxx Crosby gives Penei Sewell the highest of compliments

Raiders EDGE Maxx Crosby had to give it up for Detroit Lions RT Penei Sewell, who he named one of the two best tackles in the NFL.

Prior to Super Bowl 58, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby was doing the media rounds. During an appearance on Bradley Martyn’s “Raw Talk” podcast, Crosby had some extremely nice things to say about Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell.

Crosby was asked who is the toughest player to line up against. He had two players in mind:

“I would say the two toughest gotta be Trent Williams and Penei Sewell from Detroit,” Crosby said. “They just played yesterday, but those two guys, I’ve played both of them, and they were like straight—it was just like war every play.”

Crosby and Sewell faced off back in Week 8 on “Monday Night Football.” Though the Lions walked away with a comfortable 26-14 win over the Raiders, Crosby certainly had an impact on the game with eight tackles, one for loss, a QB hit, and a fumble recovery. That said, Sewell certainly got his, too. Per PFF, he allowed just two pressures all game and earned a stellar 79.8 PFF run blocking grade.

So what makes Sewell so special, according to Crosby?

“It’s just a mixture. All the best players have that similar quality where, ‘I’m the alpha. I’m going to win. I don’t give a fuck who it is, I’m gonna find a way to win,’” Crosby said. “And when you’ve got a mixture of athleticism and you’re strong as shit and you’re not going to give up, you put those three things together and you’re going to be a great player.

“Those two dudes. Trent Williams is massive. Penei Sewell, big-ass—he’s big as hell, but he’s athletic and strong and he’s tough as hell.”

Unfortunately, we’ve only seen Sewell and Crosby go against each other once in their respective careers, and unless an unlikely Super Bowl is headed our way in 2025, it could be another couple years until we see these two warriors go against each other again.

You can see Crosby’s entire podcast appearance below. The conversation about Sewell starts at the 44:10 mark.