When the Cincinnati Bengals made the blockbuster determination to ship the No. 10 total choose within the 2026 NFL Draft to the New York Giants for Dexter Lawrence, reactions have been understandably blended.
Some questioned giving up premium draft capital for a veteran approaching 30 years outdated. Others seen it as precisely the kind of aggressive transfer Cincinnati wanted after consecutive disappointing defensive seasons.
Just a few months later, one factor has change into more and more clear. The Bengals didn’t simply purchase an excellent defensive deal with. They acquired one of many NFL’s elite gamers on the place.
That sentiment was bolstered this week when ESPN launched its annual survey of NFL executives, coaches, and scouts rating the league’s high defensive tackles getting into the 2026 season. Despite the fact that he took a dip from his top-ranked spot getting into the 2025 season — which noticed his play drop a bit attributable to an damage he performed by way of — Lawrence as soon as once more discovered himself firmly among the many league’s elite—a testomony to the respect he continues to command across the NFL regardless of coming off what many thought-about a “down” statistical season.
Respect That Goes Past the Field Rating
One of many extra attention-grabbing elements of ESPN’s annual positional rankings is that they’re constructed on the opinions of the individuals who spend all week making an attempt to cease—or scheme towards—these gamers.
These evaluators aren’t merely taking a look at sack totals. They worth disruption, double groups, run protection, and the flexibility to break down the pocket.
The little issues that always don’t present up in conventional statistics however fully alter offensive sport plans. That’s exactly why Lawrence continues to obtain such excessive reward across the league.
Throughout a 2025 season during which his sack manufacturing dipped, opposing offenses nonetheless devoted important consideration to slowing him down, permitting others round him to learn. His fame as one in all soccer’s premier inside disruptors stays intact.
Even so, Lawrence got here in at No. 7 on ESPN’s listing after topping it in 2025. The best vote he bought was No. 3 total.
“Lawrence fell six spots, but the drop in his play isn’t that steep. The voting between the third and seventh spots was close. That said, Lawrence’s 0.5 sacks in 2025 were a career low, and he failed to make the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2021,” Fowler writes.
“But no defensive tackle gets more attention from offensive lines. Lawrence faced a double-team 71.3% of the time in 2025, a league high for players with at least 300 pass-rush opportunities.”
Precisely What Cincinnati Wanted
If there was one obvious weak spot on the Bengals roster getting into the offseason, it was the shortcoming to persistently management the road of scrimmage. Too typically in 2025, opposing offenses dictated the sport.
Lawrence modifications that equation instantly.
He’s the kind of participant who instructions double groups earlier than the ball is even snapped. That doesn’t simply enhance the defensive deal with place—it creates alternatives for edge rushers, linebackers, and blitz packages to change into simpler.
It’s one cause Cincinnati paired him with veterans Jonathan Allen and T.J. Slaton whereas persevering with the event of youthful inside gamers like Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson. On paper, it’s a vastly totally different defensive entrance than the one which struggled a yr in the past.
Particular person, a lot much less arbitrary positional rankings, don’t win soccer video games. However they do supply perception into how the league views gamers behind closed doorways.
For Bengals followers, Lawrence’s standing among the many NFL’s high defensive tackles ought to be encouraging. It confirms that Cincinnati didn’t merely add one other starter—they added probably the most revered inside defenders in soccer.
If Lawrence performs in orange and black the way in which executives, coaches, and scouts anticipate him to, the blockbuster commerce received’t be remembered for the excessive draft choose Cincinnati surrendered.
“I think he’ll be rejuvenated there,” a scout informed Fowler. “He wasn’t happy in New York. He’s got to keep his conditioning in check, but when he’s at his best, he’s next to impossible to block.”
It’ll be remembered as one of many defining strikes of an offseason constructed round getting the Bengals again into championship competition.
On this week’s Bengals Reacts survey, 48% of voters mentioned they assume the great guys will go 4-2 within the AFC North this yr. 33% mentioned they’ll end 5-1. Both mark would possible imply a playoff berth for the Bengals, who haven’t had a successful document in division play since 2021.
This survey was dropped at you by FanDuel Sportsbook.
