It doesn’t take a football savant to see that the Bengals made some drastic improvements to their defense this offseason. They were certainly needed as they allowed the most points (492) in franchise history.
While there is no perfect way to rebuild a defense in one offseason, the Bengals did a great job of mixing in veteran players who are already proven with a few high-upside rookies. And their biggest acquisition (literally) was none other than Dexter Lawrence.
The Bengals added arguably the best defensive tackle in the league this spring, and yet, not everyone believes that it was the right decision.
ESPN bashes Bengals' Dexter Lawrence trade
In a recent article by Bill Barnwell of ESPN, he named every team’s best and worst decision this offseason. Barnwell praised the addition of Bryan Cook, who many believed was the best safety on the free-agent market. Pairing him with Jordan Battle gives the Bengals two versatile safeties in their primes of their career.
But the one move that Barnwell didn’t like and was highly critical of was the decision to trade the No. 10 pick for Lawrence just days before the draft. Here is a snippet of why Barnwell hated that move for the Bengals this offseason:
“I'm still blown away that a team traded a known top-10 pick for a veteran for only the third time in the past 25 years, after the Raiders did it for Randy Moss and the Broncos did it for Russell Wilson.”
It’s true that the Bengals did give up a lot for Lawrence, but it’s not hard to understand their logic. Cincinnati desperately needed defensive help in this draft and there was no guarantee that an impact defender would be available at the spot.
It’s also known that the Bengals wanted to upgrade their defensive tackle position and this was a very weak defensive tackle class. And that’s why they considered Peter Woods at No. 10 before making the trade. It's very unlikely that Woods will have a better career than Lawrence, and it's extremely unlikely that he will outperform him in 2026 and 2027, the two years in which the Bengals need the defensive tackle help the most.
Another concern that Barnwell had was that the Bengals needed more cheap contracts on defense after spending so much money on offense over the last few years:
“Given how much they're spending on their big three on offense (Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins) and a handful of other players (Cook, Boye Mafe, Orlando Brown Jr. and breakout cornerback DJ Turner II when he signs an extension), the Bengals need cost-controlled talent to make their roster construction work.”
Barnwell isn’t wrong on this point, as the Bengals do have one of the league’s most expensive offenses. In an ideal world, it would have been nice to add an elite-caliber defender on a rookie contract at No. 10. But given that the Bengals needed defensive line help and someone who can be an impact defender right away, it’s clear that the front office believes it was worth paying a premium price for a premium player.
The Bengals are in win-now mode. They have a franchise quarterback in the prime of his career and have surrounded him with a bunch of weapons. Duke Tobin and the rest of the front office have done a good job of filling needs on defense, but they needed a superstar on that side of the ball that impact games. And that’s why it’s hard to disagree with the logic of the Lawrence trade.
Time will tell if the Bengals gave up too much for Lawrence, but if he can help this defense get back to a respectable level, nobody is going to care about giving up the No. 10 pick this season. Lawrence has the ability to be a game wrecker, and that’s exactly why the Bengals were willing to give up so much to get him rather than gambling on a rookie in 2026.
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