Dexter Lawrence Trade Grades: Why Big Move Could Have Huge Payoff for Giants, Bengals

The New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals kicked off NFL Draft week with a blockbuster on Saturday night that was as big as it was rare. The Giants traded three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals for the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft. It was the first time a team traded a top-10 pick for a player that wasn’t a quarterback in 21 years, when the Raiders gave up the seventh overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft for Randy Moss. It’s also the first time the Bengals have traded a top-10 pick for a player in the common draft era (since 1966), according to ESPN. So was it a fair deal, and how did each team do? Here are the early grades for both teams: New York Giants The 6-foot-4, 340-pound Lawrence was a tremendous player for the Giants for most of his seven seasons. He even had huge value last year, which was generally regarded as his worst in the league. He was often the focus of opposing offensive lines, and the attention he got freed up a lot of room for edge rusher Brian Burns. But Lawrence never appeared to be in shape or motivated last year, and his pass-rushing numbers fell off a cliff — just a half sack after he had nine in 12 games the year before. He’ll be 29 this season, was incredibly unhappy after years of losing New York and wanted a sizeable raise, too. The fact that the Giants got a top-10 pick for a player in that situation, heading towards his third NFL contract, is remarkable — especially considering they didn’t have to give anything else up. And the fact that they got it from the Bengals — a team that historically treats draft picks like they’re gold bullions in Fort Knox — makes the deal even more stunning. Maybe the Giants can’t find a player like Lawrence, but good defensive tackles aren’t a rare commodity. And in the right scheme, with the right players around them, that can be enough. But the grade here isn’t about what the Giants lost, especially considering that if Lawrence finds his happiness and his old form, he’s a top-three defensive tackle. It’s about the return. A top-10 pick for a team starting over with a new coach, trying to rebuild a program, isn’t just gold. It’s platinum. Yes, it matters what the Giants do with the pick. But on paper, they’re now getting two of the 10 best players in this draft. Grade: A- Cincinnati Bengals Maybe the most stunning part of this deal was the fact that the Bengals were involved. Big moves like this just aren’t what they do. No organization has been cheaper, more static or stubborn over the years. But there’s a sense in Cincinnati that the Bengals’ Super Bowl window is starting to close, and they didn’t want another year to pass by. So give them credit for going for it all, adding a huge piece to a defensive line that lost Trey Hendrickson in free agency. They have one of the NFL’s best offenses as long as quarterback Joe Burrow and receiver Ja’Marr Chase are healthy. But they’ve struggled because of a terrible defense that was the worst in the league last year. Lawrence won’t change that by himself, but putting him inside the line with B.J. Hill, in a rotation with veteran Jonathan Allen and next to new edge rusher Boye Mafe has the potential to make them a force up front. Even if that line can make the Bengals’ defense mediocre, it could turn them into a playoff team at worst, and a Super Bowl contender at best. The reason they’re not getting more rave reviews for this bold move is the high value (financially and talent-wise) of a top-10 pick. And giving that up is a risk for a player who’s going to be 29, wanted more money (the Bengals had to tack on one year and $28 million to his existing contract), and is coming off a half-sack season that was one of the worst of his career. If that was the start of a decline, the Bengals made a huge miscalculation. But they believe a happy and motivated Lawrence will get in shape and return to his old dominant form. It also helps that, as a source told me, they were convinced that they couldn’t get a ready-to-go impact defensive player with the 10th overall pick of the draft. So they chose to use that pick in the hopes of finding that instant impact. It’s a gamble, but the payoff could be huge. Grade: B-