NFL teams becoming more willing to trade two first-round picks for elite defensive players

In a striking shift in draft-pick philosophy, NFL franchises are increasingly willing to surrender two first-round selections for game-changing defensive talent, a trend underscored Friday night when the Baltimore Ravens acquired five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby from the Las Vegas Raiders for a pair of first-round picks, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.

The transaction, which cannot be formally announced until the league year opens next week, makes Crosby the third superstar defender dealt for two No. 1s within the past 6½ months. Historically, such blockbuster swaps have been exceedingly rare—fewer than 20 in the past four decades—but the recent flurry signals a new willingness to mortgage future draft capital for proven difference-makers on defense.

Crosby, 28, has built a résumé that includes 60 career sacks and relentless run-stopping ability. He now joins a Ravens squad that managed only 30 sacks in 2025, tying for 28th league-wide, and that has repeatedly exited the playoffs short of the Super Bowl despite back-to-back NFL MVP Lamar Jackson directing one of the league’s most potent offenses. Baltimore hopes the acquisition will provide the same jolt the Eagles and Seahawks received from elite defenses that powered recent championships: Philadelphia sacked Patrick Mahomes six times in a 40-22 victory in Super Bowl 59, while Seattle’s “Dark Side” defense dropped New England’s Drake Maye six times in last month’s 29-13 title win.

The Raiders, meanwhile, accelerate a retool by stockpiling premium draft assets, betting that two first-round selections can replenish a roster that has fallen out of postseason contention.

Crosby’s trade continues a recent pattern of high-stakes defensive movement. Last November the Indianapolis Colts sent two first-rounders plus wide receiver Adonai Mitchell to the New York Jets for two-time All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner. A year earlier, Green Bay shipped two first-round picks and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark to Dallas for three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons, whose 12½ sacks in 14 games helped fuel the Packers’ 9-3-1 start before an ACL tear derailed their season.

While quarterback deals have long dominated headlines—see Denver’s 2022 acquisition of Russell Wilson or Cleveland’s ill-fated trade for Deshaun Watson—front offices now appear ready to value elite defenders similarly. The logic is straightforward: in a league where the last two Lombardi Trophies were carried by ferocious pass rushes and opportunistic secondaries, difference-makers on defense are no longer luxury items; they are necessities worth the steep price of two first-round selections.

Whether Baltimore’s gamble on Crosby propels the franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance since the 2012 season will unfold under new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, but the message across the NFL is clear—premium defenders have become premium currency, and teams are increasingly willing to pay the draft-pick premium to acquire them.