​When the Cincinnati Bengals traded the No. 10 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the New York Giants for Dexter Lawrence, reactions were understandably mixed. Some questioned the move, sending premium draft capital on a veteran nearing 30, while others saw it as precisely the bold, aggressive step Cincinnati needed after consecutive disappointing defensive seasons. Now, a few months later, a clearer picture has emerged: the Bengals didn’t merely land a solid defensive tackle; they acquired one of the NFL’s elite players at the position.
That perception was reinforced this week with ESPN’s annual survey of NFL executives, coaches, and scouts ranking the league’s top defensive tackles entering the 2026 season. Despite slipping from his top-ranked standing as he entered the 2025 season—an output hampered by an injury he played through—Lawrence again sits among the league’s elite. The praise he continues to receive across the NFL remains striking, especially given what many viewed as a down statistical year.
A key feature of ESPN’s yearly positional rankings is that they reflect the judgments of the people whose week-to-week jobs involve stopping—or scheming against—these players. The evaluators aren’t simply tallying sacks; they prize disruption, the ability to draw double teams, run defense, and the capability to collapse the pocket. These are the subtle, often unquantified details that don’t always show up on traditional statistics but can dramatically alter offensive game plans. That’s precisely why Lawrence’s standing persists near the top of the league.
During the 2025 season, Lawrence’s sack numbers slipped, yet opposing offenses still devoted considerable attention to neutralizing him, enabling teammates around him to flourish. His reputation as one of football’s premier interior disruptors remains intact, even as the raw numbers dipped.
Nevertheless, Lawrence finished No. 7 on ESPN’s list after having been No. 1 in 2025. The highest vote he received was No. 3 overall. “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,” writes Seth Walder, quoting from the piece. “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.”
If there was a single discernible weakness for the Bengals entering the offseason, it was their inability to consistently win the battle at the line of scrimmage. Too frequently in 2025, opposing offenses dictated the tempo. Lawrence changes that equation immediately. He’s the kind of player who commands double teams even before the ball is snapped, altering how opponents defend Cincinnati and freeing teammates to operate with greater efficiency. In short, the acquisition isn’t merely about adding a productive lineman; it’s about integrating a player whose presence can transform an entire defense. For the Bengals, that transformation promises to be meaningful and enduring.