Kyle Shanahan says 49ers were ‘kind of jerks’ to future Raiders star Maxx Crosby during pre-draft process

The San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders held joint practices this week ahead of their first preseason matchup, which gave head coach Kyle Shanahan the chance to make amends with star pass rusher Maxx Crosby. Apparently, the 49ers were “jerks” to the Eastern Michigan product during the 2019 draft process. 

“We were kind of jerks to him in our interview when he came out of college and he’s really one of the coolest dudes I’ve seen or been around and one of the best players in this league,” Shanahan said, via the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “So it’s cool to catch up.”

Why were the 49ers “jerks” to the future star QB menace? Well, this pre-draft interview included newly hired defensive line coach Kris Kocurek — who employed a bit of a confrontational method to see how the player would respond. During the interview, 49ers general manager John Lynch apparently even touched Kocurek’s leg as if to reel him in a bit. Shanahan said Crosby, “was a stud,” and was not rattled despite Kocurek’s process.

Crosby reportedly laughed when he was told what Shanahan said about the interview. 

“I feel like every single team that I interviewed with didn’t take me seriously,” Crosby said. “I could name every damn team if I want, but I’m not going to do that.”

Crosby has recorded 37.5 sacks in 66 career NFL games, and is a two-time Pro Bowler and one-time second-team All-Pro. Last season, he notched a career-high 12.5 sacks — accounting for 46 percent of the Raiders’ QB takedowns. That was the second-highest rate in the NFL behind Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.