Dexter Lawrence traded to Bengals!
The New York Giants have traded All-Pro DT Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals.
An aggressive move in Cincinnati, trading the 10th overall pick in exchange for a 28 year old All-Pro interior defensive lineman in Dexter Lawrence.
Despite having two years left on his contract, Dexter Lawrence elected to sit out of the Giants early offseason program.
In less than two weeks, it progressed from this, to GM Joe Schoen saying they really want him in New York, and HC John Harbaugh saying "the prospects are high" of Lawrence returning, to the two sides reaching an "impasse," reported just 5 days ago.
And now Lawrence will be playing for Cincinnati, with a one year, $28m extension on top of the two years remaining.
Let's discuss the massive effects of this trade.
From both rosters, to each teams' draft strategies, to the 1st round of the NFL draft, this trade has lots of dominoes falling.
Cincinnati Bengals
Let's start with Cincinnati. They added an All-Pro player!
Was it worth it for the 10th pick in the draft?
Yes, and here's some extra reasoning as to why, besides the fact that they want to compete now and just added an All-Pro.
It sounds as though Cincinnati was planning to add to their defense in the draft. And some media murmurs indicate that there may have not been a desirable option available at #10.
If you can't add to the defense at Pick 10, go get an All-Pro. Great move.
Now, what does this do for the defense?
The Bengals have had an infamously poor defense ever since their 2021 Super Bowl run. Now, in the past 12 months, they have spent notable resources on:
DE Shemar Stewart - 2025 1st Round Pick
LB Demetrius Knight Jr - 2025 2nd Round Pick
S Bryan Cook - 3 year, $40.25M contract in free agency
DE Boye Mafe - 3 year, $60m contract in free agency
DT Jonathan Allen - 2 year, $25m contract in free agency
DT Dexter Lawrence - traded 2026 1st Round Pick, $28m extension
There is no guarantee the Bengals will have a great, even above average, defense. But the floor has undoubtedly been raised.
Dexter Lawrence is on of the better defenders in the entire NFL. He's a nose tackle, and yet is a 3 down player because he's a productive pass rusher. The definition of a floor raiser.
This addition also allows Jonathan Allen to not be on the field for 70% of snaps as he typically is. Allen's run defense has dipped in recent years, but he can still contribute as a rusher.
Bryan Cook should help solidify the secondary. He has the speed and agility to cover deep, but is tremendous in run support as well. He joins outside CBs Dax Hill and D.J. Turner, who both had good 2025 seasons, in the secondary.
The biggest spot the Bengals need to step up in 2026 is their DEs. They spent a 2023 1st round pick on Myles Murphy, took Shermar Stewart last draft, and paid Boye Mafe. These three must produce for the Cincinnati defense to be average.
The good news is, adding Dexter Lawrence makes everyone else's job on the DL much easier. You aren't just adding an elite force in the middle, you are easing the pressure on the rest of your defensive front.
Adding a strong LB would be nice. They drafted two last year, in the aforementioned Knight, as well as 4th rounder Barrett Carter. Neither had great rookie years.
Another piece that would truly round out this defense is a nickel player, with Hill and Turner on the outside. The good news for Cincinnati is that there appears to be a good amount of prospects who project as nickels.
Speaking of the draft, what does Cincy do with no Top 10 pick?
They now have 7 selections:
Pick 41 - Rd2
Pick 72 - Rd3
Pick 110 - Rd4
Pick 189 - Rd6
Pick 199 - Rd6
Pick 221 - Rd7
Pick 226 - Rd7
They still have decent capital! Yes, over half is in the final two rounds. But they have the opportunity to add depth.
As I mentioned, LB and nickel (or safety) are the two positions that stick out. Maybe adding OL depth as well, with two members of their IOL being free agents next year.
Just build depth defensively, that's the priority.
Acquiring Dexter Lawrence boosts the floor of the Bengals defense, along with other offseason moves. The extension was incredibly reasonable, although the issue of a contract extension may come up again next offseason.
If Cincinnati can even muster up a Top 20 defense, this is a playoff team with a Joe Burrow led offense.
Fantastic offseason thus far for the Bengals.
New York Giants
The Giants just traded their best player. Why is that?
Let's start by saying that getting the 10th overall pick was fantastic value.
But let me also say that trading your best player while your QB is on a rookie contract because you did not want to pony up a measly $28m for a one year extension is pathetic.
Lawrence is the exact type of guy the Giants should be putting money into while three of their most important players, Jaxson Dart, Malik Nabers, Abdul Carter, are all on rookie deals. You are now a worse team. The Giants already had an issue on the interior next to Lawrence, now you have to replace the best NT in the NFL.
This was bad business to me.
However, there is a good chance Dexter Lawrence just wanted out of New York and was unwilling to sign that 1 year, $28m extension with the Giants. We'll continue with this assumption as a favor to the Giants.
New York's roster is in a less than ideal spot. Here is what you can feel confident in:
OT duo. Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eluemunor are both getting paid and are very good.
WR1. Malik Nabers is elite. But even he has a question, as he's coming off a major knee surgery.
EDGE rotation. Brian Burns is a Pro Bowler getting paid. Abdul Carter had a very good rookie season. And Kayvon Thibodeaux, in the last year of his rookie deal, is a good player.
Jevon Holland is a very good starting safety
That is it!
Your QB is inspiring with Jaxson Dart. Your CB room has names, but are Greg Newsome and Deonte Banks going to contribute alongside Paulson Adebo and Dru Phillips? How well will free agent signee LB Tremaine Edmunds play with poor run defense in front of him?
There are a lot of problems here, but now you have two Top 10 picks to fix them! What should New York do with these selections?
Let's look at defense:
There were rumors before the trade that the Giants were heavily considering both LB Sonny Styles and S Caleb Downs at Pick 5. A "best player available" strategy. Who cares who you have on your roster, let's get the guy we think will be the best pro.
While new HC John Harbaugh isn't necessarily a "defensive" coach, his rosters in Baltimore have historically had great safeties and LBs. Both selections would make sense.
Both Styles and Downs would start Day 1. You don't need to go EDGE, and I think the Giants have added enough CB reinforcements this offseason that indicate they won't be going that direction in Round 1. But the biggest defensive need is interior defensive lineman that can handle double teams and stop the run.
Now what could happen on offense:
Again, citing recent rumors, the Giants reportedly have interest in WRs Carnell Tate and Jordyn Tyson, even attending Tyson's recent individual workout and hosting him on a private dinner. And of course, there has been heavy ties to RB Jeremiyah Love as well.
New York certainly need another offensive weapon. They have Nabers, signed TE Isaiah Likely, but after that, it's Darnell Mooney, Darius Slayton, and Cam Skattebo coming off an ankle fracture. Adding a WR2 is a priority, especially with a young QB.
But offensive line is also a need. I mentioned the strength of bookend tackles, but is there a positive starter on the interior OL? I'm not sure.
The Draft
Continuing some Giants talk, but it involves the draft.
Let's go back to the note about the Bengals possibilty not liking their options at 10th overall, pushing them to make this trade.
Will the Giants even be able to grab a defender of their liking with that pick? If no, does this force their hand to go defense at 5th overall? Or do they say, "we just traded our best defender, who cares about defense this year, let's help our young QB and grab two offensive pieces?"
In the end, I'm not sure this changes the draft too much.
There's a decent amount of smoke about Jordyn Tyson going 5th overall, which I intially bought in to. But, there's also a new figure in the Giants organization. I have to believe John Harbaugh is calling the shots, not GM Joe Schoen. Which leads me to believe Tyson isn't a very serious option at #5.
Again, I don't think this has major effects. Everyone knew the Bengals would target defense, so it's not like this will cause teams to want to jump ahead of Pick 10 now to get their guy.
The main changes are Giants oriented.
I do think there's higher odds of the Giants making moves now. Whether that's moving from 5 to 3(Jeremiyah Love?), 10 to 6(make back-to-back picks), or trading back from 10 to acquire even more capital(they don't have a 3rd round pick), New York now has more holes to fill and will want to get their guys in the draft.
The Giants have more options and flexibility in the draft with that extra pick.
Thanks for reading through the article! Let me know who you think won the trade, and what the Giants will do with their extra pick in the top 10!
We have a couple more articles, plus a mock draft, that will come out prior to the draft on Thursday.
Stay tuned for more NFL and 49ers articles, news, and opinions!
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