Crosby Describes Raiders' Joint Practice with Rams

Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby talked about his experience in a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams and scouting receiver Puka Nacua.

It’s always entertaining when the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams cross paths. 

The two teams most recently faced off in the 2023 preseason, when the Raiders came out on top 34-17. 

Before that game, the Raiders and Rams held joint practices, spending the week learning each other and getting in valuable reps ahead of the season. 

In that week, a rookie wide receiver named Puka Nacua was not well-known by the national media or regular households sitting down to watch NFL football every Sunday yet. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound rookie out of BYU had yet to catch 105 passes for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns en route to his finish as an Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist. 

Because of this, the Raiders did not think much of Nacua on the scouting report. At that point, Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby was not familiar with Nacua’s game. 

When Nacua joined Crosby on the latest episode of his podcast, "The Rush with Maxx Crosby," Crosby talked about the joint practices and scouting the Rams.

“When we had the joint practices with you guys, we’re doing our scouting of you guys and breaking it down,” he told Nacua. “Cooper Kupp, I think he was hurt; he was out at that time, and they’re like, ‘They have this guy, Cam Akers, the running back, and they have this receiver, this rookie fifth-round pick,’ and they had a picture of you. You had slicked-back hair and the big smile. I’m like, ‘Who the f--- is this guy?’

“We didn’t know who you were, but coach was like, ‘Nah, Sean McVay said this kid has been killing it in training camp,’ and you and [Matthew] Stafford had a great connection. That was early on. Obviously, people got to see it all during your rookie season.”

Crosby often wants Raiders rookies to prove their talent to him before they earn his respect. The same likely went for Nacua, who put up one of the most impressive rookie-receiving seasons in recent memory. Although Nacua did not play in the preseason game, Crosby got a good look at him and saw what kind of rookie season he was capable of. 

Click here to watch the full episode with Crosby and Nacua.

The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently have the No. 13 overall pick.

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