The New England Patriots' major offseason needs center around sacks. They need to upgrade their porous offensive line to prevent them and their edge players from producing them. The disparity was nowhere more evident than in the Super Bowl when they were outsacked, 6-1.
A great addition to the Patriots' or any other team's edge would be the Raiders' star pass-rusher, Maxx Crosby, but his cost will be sky-high.
Crosby would certainly be well-worth the Patriots' No. 31 pick in the 2026 first round and a lot more. They have two fourths this year and could also cough up a second in the 2027 draft if that would get the deal done. But that may not be enough.
An option would be to include a strong player or two to sweeten the pot and mitigate the damage from draft picks. Players with high salaries or no long-term futures in New England could be possible additions in such a deal if the Raiders were amenable.
But they hold the player - and all the cards in this negotiation.
The Patriots need to add sack producers this offseason at all cost
The Patriots need to add sack production this offseason. In 2025, they ranked 26th in the NFL with only 35. The Broncos were on top with almost double, with 68. The question was not so much that they got sacked in the Super Bowl 6-1, but that they got there at all, with surrendering so many and not getting enough of their own.
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio has written about the cost the Raiders would impose if a team is serious about signing their star pass-rusher, Maxx Crosby, and it's a stiff one.
"Will the Raiders trade defensive end Maxx Crosby? Yes, if they get what they want for him. Per a league source, the Raiders are looking for two first-round picks and a player for the 28-year-old edge rusher. That’s what the Cowboys got for Micah Parsons in August, with the player being defensive lineman Kenny Clark.
The quality of player the Raiders want wasn’t specified. Presumably, it’s a starting-caliber contributor."
Two first-round picks may not be stomachable by the Patriots. Yet, since the Raiders need good players, perhaps they'd be willing to accept two players rather than just one in a package that might not require two No. 1s.
The Patriots have other needs that might make giving up two first round picks unacceptable
The Patriots, if interested in doling out a bag for Crosby, do have options. If they can somehow dump the salaries of Onwenu (he'll save $17.5M on the cap if cut), Stefon Diggs perhaps, who'll save another $16.8M, and others such as Garrett Bradbury (saves $5.25M) and maybe even others, they can amass a bundle of more cap space to do some serious damage in free agency.
They can add two guards, such as the Bills' David Andrews to replace Jared Wilson, who'll probably move to center, at left guard, and the Raiders' Dylan Parham, who can take over Onwenu's right guard spot.
Yet if they are going all-out for Crosby and the Raiders are firm on two first-rounders, it will be a difficult decision for Mike Vrabel and his personnel team.
One thing is clear, however, no matter how they have to do so, the Patriots, whether in free agency, by trade, or in the draft, need to get edge players who get sacks, not just pressures or hits - sacks.
If they don't, their defense will remain good when it could be great. How Vrabel deals with this issue and his O-line may just determine if the Patriots were a flash in the pan in 2025 or the onset of a legitimate annual contender for the Super Bowl. Those two issues may largely decide which one.