Bengals Considered Trading No. 10 Pick For Maxx Crosby

The Bengals made a massive pre-draft move by trading the No. 10 pick in this week’s draft to the Giants for nose tackle Dexter Lawrence. The deal significantly improves their defensive line, perhaps the biggest area of weakness on the roster.

Cincinnati tried to upgrade their pass rush earlier this offseason after losing Trey Hendrickson in free agency. They offered the No. 10 pick to the Raiders for Maxx Crosby, according to EssentiallySports’ Tony Pauline. However, the Bengals were unwilling to match the Ravens’ offer of two first-round picks in a deal that was eventually scuttled by a failed physical. (Ironically, Baltimore then pivoted to Hendrickson, signing him to a four-year, $112MM deal.)

Adding Crosby would have offered an instant replacement for Hendrickson, who was one of the most productive sack-getters in the league in 2023 and 2024. He posted 17.5 sacks in each year, leading the league in 2024 individually and across the two seasons in aggregate. Last year, injuries limited him to just four sacks in seven games.

Crosby has not been quite as productive in the pass rush with 32 sacks in the last three years. He is, however, a significantly better run defender, which was also a major weakness in Cincinnati last year. In fact, Crosby is arguably the league’s best edge defender against the run who has averaged 19 tackles for loss per season in his seven-year career. Last year, he posted a whopping 28 TFLs, which trailed only Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.

It is unclear why the Bengals declined to beat the Ravens’ offer for Crosby. They may have had the same medical concerns and were thus unwilling to move forward with such an expensive trade. Clearly, they did not have a specific prospect they loved with the No. 10 pick; otherwise, they would not have sent it to New York for Lawrence.

Cincinnati will now have to look for edge rushers on Days 2 and 3 of the draft, unless they trade back into Round 1. With the 41st overall pick and seven selections overall, they could move into the back of the first round to secure one of their top targets.