The Las Vegas Raiders don't need an edge rusher right now, but they will if the Maxx Crosby trade gets resurrected.
The Las Vegas Raiders have some major needs in the upcoming NFL draft, but edge rusher isn’t considered one of them. The Raiders still have defensive end Maxx Crosby on the roster, and they also signed multiple edge rusher/linebacker types in free agency, including Nakobe Dean, Kwity Paye , and Quay Walker.
Which makes it especially interesting that the Raiders are doing a draft visit with edge rusher Malachi Lawrence, who’s getting a lot of interest as draft day draws closer. Lawrence played for UCF, and according to Connor Byrne of ProFootballRumors.com, his college career took off back when he was a redshirt freshman in 2023. He had 10.5 tackles for loss to got with 7.5 sacks that year, and he was an All-Big 12 selection last year.
Some of the interest was driven by his excellint performance at the NFL combine, where Lawrence ran 4.52-second 40-yard dash. He also placed high among edge rusher in his vertical jump, broad jump and ten-second splits. He’s currently ranked between 36 and 46, depending on which draft experts is doing the report.
Malachi has also visited a lot of teams, so the Raiders would have considerably competition if they were to try and add him. He’s made visits to the Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Tennessee Titans and the New York Jets, according to a source Byrne cited.
This week’s visits will included the Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, and the Seattle Seahawks, so it would almost be easier to list the teams he hasn’t visited. Most of these teams need edge rushers more than the Raiders do, but this is the NFL, and strange things happen.
Specifically, we’re talking about the rescinded Crosby trade. There’s been talk off and on about a resurrected version of that trade in which the Raiders would get a first rounder and a third-round pick instead of a pair of first rounders, and those rumors will almost certainly intensify this week.
If the Raiders did do something like this, edge rusher would shift into something of a need. Las Vegas could still get by with the players they’ve signed, but edge rusher is one of those priority positions where teams never have enough players, and Lawrence could be one of them. It’s a long-shot possibility, but the Raiders have certainly been known to do stranger and more unlikely things when they’re on the clock.