The San Francisco 49ers have a glaring need for pass-rushers, particularly after losing defensive ends Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams to season-ending ACL tears last year.
Boasting the league's fewest sacks during the regular season (20), followed by the loss of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to the Tennessee Titans' head-coaching vacancy, the need to infuse some pass-rush talent on that side of the ball is an obvious one.
Yet with relatively few home-run edge-rushing prospects to identify in the upcoming NFL Draft this April, the Niners are either going to need to rely on a potentially volatile free-agent market or swing a blockbuster trade.
Such as tabbing the Las Vegas Raiders' Maxx Crosby.
CBS Sports suggested a Maxx Crosby trade the 49ers couldn't refuse
Looking at Crosby as a potential solution to San Francisco's pass-rush problem is nothing new, and the idea of pairing him with Bosa should strike fear into the minds of opposing offenses.
That said, there are plenty of other teams willing to bid on Crosby's services, should he truthfully feel as if he's played his last down in Vegas.
As for trade suggestions, CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan provided one that'd simply be too good for the 49ers to pass up:
Crosby to the Niners for a first- and a second-round pick. That'd be it, as Sullivan described:
"The 49ers were decimated by injuries in 2025, which seriously impacted their ability to rush the passer. Edge rushers Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams both tore ACLs, contributing to San Francisco recording the fewest sacks in the NFL (20) and the fewest sacks per game (1.8) ever by a playoff team.
Of course, that unit should improve simply by getting healthier in 2026, but the club should still explore significant additions. GM John Lynch is one of the more aggressive executives in the NFL, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him dip his toe into the Crosby trade waters -- especially with his team still in a Super Bowl window while competing in one of the league's toughest divisions, which includes the defending champions."
Now, it's fair to wonder how easy it would be to pull this off, especially if San Francisco has to get into a bidding war with other teams for the pass-rusher's services. And fitting Crosby's cap hit alongside quarterback Brock Purdy's increasingly large cap number would be difficult, too.
But, putting it bluntly, Crosby is a better-quality pass-rusher than any the 49ers would be able to get with either one of their first two picks this April.
About the only major downside, though, is it would deny the Niners a shot at fixing another vital weakness, wide receiver, which puts more pressure on offseason plans to replace Brandon Aiyuk and (likely) Jauan Jennings on the offensive side of the ball.
For Crosby, though, it'd certainly be worth it.