Dexter Lawrence opening 1-on-1 doors for Bengals pass rushers who must pass through

The Cincinnati Bengals’ plan to overhaul their defensive line is paying off on the pass-rush side, even as the run defense needs an upgrade in every way. 

Nevertheless, the acquisition of Dexter Lawrence has meant what we all expected it would when the Bengals traded for him this offseason. That includes being the sun around which opposing teams set their double-team blocks and protections. 

But Lawrence is not in the Queen City to overshadow the other defensive linemen. His presence should let them shine as offensive coordinators try, unavailingly, to slow him down with double teams. 

With that, given the attention that Lawrence and Jonathan Allen predictably attract, the other pass rushers must take advantage of their one-on-one opportunities to a greater extent than they are in both passing and rush defense. 

Bengals edge rushers must escape Lawrence’s shadow

Despite being the center of attention for opposing offenses, Lawrence and Jonathan Allen lead the Bengals in pressures with nine and ten, respectively, according to Pro Football Reference. 

Behind them are Boye Mafe and Cashius Howell with eight, followed by Myles Murphy with seven. 

The hope was, and remains, that with Lawrence, Allen, and BJ Hill getting all the attention as in years past, pass rush life for the edge rushers would get easier. 

In some ways it has. In others, well…

With Lawrence as the sun of Cincinnati's defense, the edge rushers should be crashing into the universe that is the opposing quarterbacks' kitchen.

Rookie’s star has room to launch

We love what Cashius Howell is bringing as a rookie edge rusher to Cincinnati’s defense, which needed a much-needed shot in the arm at the position. But we can hope for more. 

Howell is being blocked one-on-one at the second-highest rate in the NFL. Only Cam Thomas of the Atlanta Falcons ranks above him. However, Thomas wins his individual matchups at a clip above 80%, while Howell wins at a rate below the 49.0% average.

Among the top three edge rushers taking snaps for the Bengals, Howell faces one-on-one blocking more than Murphy and Boye Mafe. He must take advantage of those matchups opposite Mafe, who is winning at elite rates for edge rushers this season.

And when Howell begins to win those matchups more consistently, we should get a look at his impressive pressure-to-sack conversions that we saw while he was at Texas A&M.

However, the answer to Howell shining brighter could come with the dimming of another who must take advantage of Lawrence’s gravity.  

Murphy mustn’t get lost in space

Another Bengals pass rusher who is getting opportunities in one-on-one situations is Myles Murphy, in part due to Lawrence’s arrival. 

The timing is perfect, as he is in the final year of his deal. But that is only important if he can produce the best-year-of-his-career type of season. 

After an offseason in which the Bengals did not exercise his fifth-year option, Murphy has the opportunity to make the front office regret that decision. However, he hasn't fully taken advantage of being a satellite around Lawrence’s orbit just yet. 

Through five games, Murphy has 1.5 sacks, five tackles, and seven pressures, according to Pro Football Reference. He is on pace for five sacks this season, which would be less than his club-leading 5.5 sacks last season. 

The former first-rounder is nearly even with Howell, with a below-average grade when facing single blockers. That is, despite being the defensive lineman with the fourth-most one-on-one opportunities, behind Thomas, Howell, and Jacob Martin through Week 5. 

One way to interpret that is that Lawrence, Allen, and Boye Mafe require too much attention. Another way to see it is that opposing offenses aren't focusing on the veteran edge rusher. 

Either way, in this young universe, Murphy needs to avoid the Pluto path.

Boye Mafe making most of Lawrence’s orbit

Meanwhile, all Mafe does is win, as the philosopher DJ Khaled would eloquently put it.

Cincinnati’s new edge rusher grades out almost as well as Lawrence in his one-on-one opportunities, but there remains space in between.

Mafe is the Bengals’ second-highest-graded player in one-on-one situations behind Lawrence and just above Allen. He's capitalizing on his full-time starting role in Cincinnati after coming from Seattle, where he was a rotational piece.

And defenses won’t be able to give offensive tackles too much help if the opposing linemen are focused on Lawrence.

Mafe has already eclipsed his two sacks from 2025 with three through five games this year. Those three sacks are more than Trey Hendrickson’s two this season.

Now that Mafe is one of the best pass rushers in the NFL at getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks, teams might begin giving him star treatment, accounting for him more than they have been thus far this season, leaving Murphy and Howell with an even greater chance to get around one, rather than a couple of blockers. 

It's time for the Bengals' edge rushers to shine

The Bengals haven’t had a defensive player who receives as much consistent attention as Lawrence in quite some time. With those eyes focused on him, everyone else has the opportunity to shine as well. 

Hopefully, the bye week allowed defensive coordinator Al Golden the time to cook up schemes that will allow those in Lawrence’s orbit to take advantage of his presence to become stars in their own right.

And because they are on different timetables, some edge rushers need to burn hotter and faster than others. 

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