2026 NFL mock draft: Maxx Crosby trade should mean help for Fernando Mendoza

The Maxx Crosby trade had far-reaching implications for not only the Ravens and Raiders, but also our latest 2026 NFL mock draft.

At this rate – as has become something of a recent norm in the NFL – by the time free agency officially begins on March 11 … most of the league’s available big names may have already been scooped up, whether by agreeing to contracts before then or included in trades that can be structured, if not officially finalized, right now.

And those trade winds have blown furiously in recent days, DJ Moore, Trent McDuffie and Tytus Howard already on the move – and those swaps were engineered before the biggest blockbuster of all in 2026 (so far anyway) materialized on the night of March 6. That’s when the Baltimore Ravens agreed to acquire DE Maxx Crosby in exchange for two first-round picks, including No. 14 overall this year.

The move mutually amplifies the Ravens as a Super Bowl 61 contender and the Raiders as a rebuilding bottom-feeder. It also throws another major wrinkle into Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft. Here’s how Crosby’s relocation further impacts our first-round projections:

He didn’t work out at the scouting combine. Didn’t have to. When you’re 6-foot-5, 236 pounds, paced FBS with 41 TD passes, process like a microchip and just led your school to a magical national championship? Heck, there's virtually nothing Mendoza can do at this point to help his football résumé – though interactions with reporters and his fellow combine attendees continued to burnish his reputation as an outstanding person and teammate. (And good news − now he doesn't have to contend with McDuffie twice a year! Also, the Raiders’ exportation of Crosby means Mendoza will almost surely get immediate and needed offensive reinforcements.) The Jets are basically on the clock.

The Stanford grad came into his own with the Big 12 champion Red Raiders in 2025, tying for first in the FBS with 14½ sacks while leading the field with a 20.2% pressure percentage and mixing in 19½ tackles for losses. Bailey is scheme diverse, which could also be a boon for a team switching to a three-man front and one that just offloaded DE Jermaine Johnson II, who was optimal for Tennessee's 4-3 defense.