The Dallas Cowboys are going to hear a lot of noise this offseason about how their No. 1 goal should be to bring back NFL All-Pro wide receiver George Pickens, and to do so by any means necessary.
That’s just a distraction from what the Cowboys really need to do.
They already have one All-Pro wide receiver on the payroll with CeeDee Lamb plus a handful of skilled role players — including $50 million tight end Jake Ferguson — who can all play at a high level.
What the Cowboys need more than another wide receiver is an impact player on defense. More specifically, they need someone who can change games by getting to the quarterback.
Lucky for them, there’s someone out there right now who is really good at that and just happens to be in the market for a new team.
NFL All-Pro Edge Rusher Ready for New Home
There is one super unhappy, trade-ready NFL All-Pro edge rusher currently out there in Las Vegas Raiders superstar Maxx Crosby, who seems to have no interest in being part of the franchise’s rebuild.
That rebuild comes with presumed No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza at quarterback and an ownership group with a bizarre leadership structure in place that seems to have put 7-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady at the helm, despite having zero experience as an NFL executive.
Getting Crosby to the Cowboys is probably just as simple as offering the Raiders both of their 2026 1st round picks — No. 12 and No. 20 — and taking on the rest of the 3-year, $106.5 million contract extension Crosby signed in March 2025.
What they would get back in return is a player who could not only change their defense but lift the Cowboys back into the playoffs for the 1st time since 2023.
Homecoming Could Be Legacy Play for Crosby
To be sure, the Cowboys won’t be the only team going after Crosby this offseason.
Their advantage lies not only in what they can offer the rebuilding Raider with the pair of 1st round picks, but also what they can offer in term of legacy.
Crosby is a Dallas-area native who will inherently understand that while playing for the Cowboys comes with a different kind of pressure, it also comes with a different kind of reward. Win here, and you’re a legend forever.
Cowboys Showed They Need Elite Edge Rusher
The Cowboys traded away one of the greatest edge rushers of the last 20 years in Micah Parsons shortly before the 2025 season and watched their defense go completely in the tank — they finished 30th among 32 NFL teams in yards allowed.
Getting Crosby quite literally fixes all those problems on the spot.
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound, Colleyville, Texas, native was a fourth round pick (No. 106 overall) in the 2019 NFL draft and has carved out what could very well be part of a Pro Football Hall of Fame career since then.
In 7 NFL seasons, he’s a 5-time Pro Bowler and 2-time NFL All-Pro with 69.5 career sacks and 111 career TFL — a category he’s led the NFL in twice, in 2022 and 2023.
In 2025, playing for the worst team in the NFL, Crosby had 73 tackles, 10.0 sacks, 28 TFL, 6 pass deflections, 1 interception and 2 forced fumbles in just 15 games as the Raiders shut him down for the final 2 games of the regular season — a move likely done to make sure they secured the No. 1 overall pick.
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