When faced with the prospect of trading Dexter Lawrence, the New York Giants only pulled the trigger when they absolutely had to. Head coach John Harbaugh wanted to keep the defensive cornerstone, but changed his mind when the Cincinnati Bengals offered the 10th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Lawrence is the sort of player who can change the entire complexion of a defense, but the Giants aren't in a place where a 29-year-old defensive tackle is the missing piece that'll make this team a contender. So instead, they chased the value while they could in order to find that missing piece.
Losing Sexy Dexy comes with some major shoes to fill, but New York is fortunate to get what they did for him. The Bengals' desperation to go all-in around Joe Burrow led them to majorly overpay for the ex-Giants stalwart.
The Giants' value from the Dexter Lawrence trade has shaped their offseason
And the value Big Blue got in this trade has defined their offseason. While giving every NFL team an offseason report card, ESPN's Seth Walder gave the Giants a B-plus and labeled the Lawrence trade as the move he liked the most. Turning an aging defensive tackle coming off a down year into a top-10 pick is a masterclass from general manager Joe Schoen, which is why the deal keeps aging nicely.
"In terms of players, the biggest decision the Giants made was to trade Lawrence to the Bengals for the No. 10 pick," Walder wrote. "That was a huge win. As much as I -- and probably the Giants! -- like Lawrence as a player, he was coming off a down season, and the value of the No. 10 pick was simply a much better return than the veteran defensive tackle is likely worth."
As great as the three-time Pro Bowler has been in his time with the Giants, signing D.J. Reader and Shelby Harris to join Darius Alexander in replacing him is addition by subtraction. And that doesn't even account for that 10th pick being used to land another potential franchise cornerstone at OT.
"Thanks to that trade, the Giants had two top-10 picks in the draft," Walder noted. "They added linebacker/edge rusher Arvell Reese-- who surprisingly fell to No. 5 -- and OT Francis Mauigoa at No. 10. Those two young players can be the foundation of the Giants' new core if they play well."
Walder noted that because of this trade, the G-Men were able to come away with two young studs, including Miami's Francis Mauigoa with the 10th pick. With how bad the offensive line was, Mauigoa should be a Day 1 starter at right guard and kick out to right tackle once Jermaine Eluemunor leaves.
It's not like the Clemson product won't have a major impact on this Cincinnati defense, but it was time for the Giants to pursue a hard reset on defense. Trading a player as talented as Dexter Lawrence isn't the most popular decision, but they did so in the one way where such a blockbuster deal is justified.
The deal has aged gracefully so far and I would only expect that trend to continue.
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