Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence is the ultimate weapon that the team hasn't had in recent years to support the likes of Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and the offense. In fact, Lawrence is still in the midst of his prime, and could yet become one of the premier players in franchise history.
The notion that the Bengals somehow lost the trade with the New York Giants is fascinating to me. Unless the G-Men's 10th overall pick, a right guard in Francis Mauigoa, is a future Hall of Famer, Cincinnati won the trade. What are we even talking about?
Beyond that, when factoring in that Lawrence accepted playing out the last two years of his current contract, and the Bengals only needed to secure a one-year, $28 million extension through 2028, he's a bargain of the century candidate.
As anticipation builds for the regular season, where the legend Adam Schefter is hinting at a potential Rams-Bengals Super Bowl rematch, we need to look closer at what Lawrence brings to Cincinnati.
Dexter Lawrence is the space-eater the Bengals defense needs
When you look at the Bengals last season, their big flaw was stopping the run. Free-agent signing T.J. Slaton couldn't live up to the hype as a run stopper, and Cincinnati didn't have any viable nose tackles behind him.
Check out these raw numbers for the run defense from 2025, and how it impacted the team's ability to be competitive (NFL ranking in parentheses):
- Rushing yards allowed per game: 147.1 (32nd)
- Yards per carry allowed: 5.2 (31st)
- Second-half points allowed per game: 14.8 (31st)
Opponents could just run the ball at will on the Bengals. If a game was close toward the end, they could bleed the clock, and devastate Cincinnati's defense for explosive passes off of play-action.
This is where Lawrence comes in. He's a 350-pound mauler in the middle of the trenches. Most vitally, he takes pressure off the Bengals' second-year linebackers Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr., who were primary culprits of last season's defensive woes.
Although his run defense took a bit of a step back in his final season with the G-Men, Lawrence's 57.0 PFF grade should be an outlier. The three years prior, he posted elite grades of 81.9, 89.5 and 83.8.
Gravity of Dexter Lawrence's presence will elevate the pass rush
As NFL Researcher on X points out, Lawrence was double-teamed on pass rushes at the highest rate in the NFL over the last five years (53.2%). He still managed to record the fourth-most QB pressures (65) after those double teams.
Some who believe the Giants won the trade will contend that Lawrence, coming off a supposed down year in 2025, is not going to age well as his career goes on. I'd argue quite the opposite.
You see, the Giants never had an elite offense to complement Lawrence. He has that now with Joe Burrow and Co. to force adversaries into obvious passing situations.
Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden will be more multiple in his scheme, deploying versatile edge defenders like Boye Mafe and Cashius Howell in a multitude of different ways. That'll make Golden's ability to call stunts up front and exotic, simulated pressures way easier — and Lawrence's havoc-wreaking is the engine that makes it all go.
Golden will be deep into his call sheet bag. Lawrence is poised to rally from a 0.5-sack season to prove the haters wrong.
Indeed, the artist known as Sexy Dexy is about to elevate a pass rush that leaned way too much on Trey Hendrickson's individual prowess in that department before his arrival.
Dexter Lawrence brings credibility, star power, and leadership to Bengals defense
The intangibles are where Lawrence can really shine. He's taken accountability for his shortcomings during the 2025 campaign. He was a huge presence at the Bengals' voluntary offseason workouts once he was traded.
Cincinnati has lacked genuine leadership on defense for a while. Head coach Zac Taylor even spoke about that during their struggles this last season. He wanted guys to step up. Nobody really did.
Maybe that's why Taylor dropped this telling quote back in May, via Bengals radio voice Dan Hoard:
"I was shocked that he was here every day right after we traded for him...He just chose to jump right in and not miss a day. I think that just shows — I hate to speak for him — the excitement that he has to be here.”
Thus, the Bengals sought those leaders from elsewhere. What's great, too, is that Burrow won't have to carry as much of a vocal leadership role. He's evolving to become more like that, sure, but that seems to come naturally to the gregarious Dexter Lawrence.
That may not seem like much of a burden to lift of Burrow's shoulders, yet every little bit helps when you're the true face of the franchise.
Lawrence is a legitimate cornerstone for Golden to build his entire defense around. A massive name with a massive game. Quite possibly good enough to bring Burrow and the Bengals back to the Super Bowl stage.
Add us as a preferred source on Google