Pros and Cons of Trading Premium Draft Capital for an Elite Edge Rusher Such As Maxx Crosby
As noted in Late for Work on Tuesday, the Ravens are among seven teams reportedly “keeping tabs” on Las Vegas Raiders five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby if he’s traded.
Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr looked at the pros and cons of spending premium draft capital on an elite edge rusher such as Crosby as opposed to having a committee of pass rushers, ala the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, who had three players tie for the team lead in sacks with seven and one who had six.
“The benefit: Having one elite edge rusher allows a defensive unit to more easily anticipate which direction an offensive line is going to slide its protection, and how and where the unit will allocate its
‘Chip’ player (an ancillary blocker, usually a tight end or running back but more increasingly a sixth offensive lineman, who can help bottleneck the pass rush),” Orr wrote. “It also includes the baked-in possibility that one singular person can take over a game.
“The drawback: The impact of an injury becomes more consequential, and injuries tend to accumulate more in pass rushers who bear an almost every-down burden in the defense (and tend to get targeted more schematically, either by plays that zap their energy and force them to run sideline to sideline or with multi-blocker run plays designed to wear away at a pass rusher’s will over time). Of the league’s six best non-Crosby pass rushers at the moment (Myles Garrett, Aidan Hutchinson, Will Anderson Jr., Micah Parsons, Nik Bonitto and Danielle Hunter), most have missed at least a large chunk of one season due to a serious injury or injuries.”
Crosby, 29, underwent left knee meniscus surgery in January and had season-ending ankle surgery in 2024. Overall, Crosby has undergone eight surgeries in his seven-year career.