Joe Schoen doesn’t need a PowerPoint presentation to understand what the New York Giants have in Dexter Lawrence -- the numbers, really one number, already did that for him. With contract talks turning into a strong-armed trade request, it's time the 46-year-old general manager starts treating this like the problem it is.
And if there were ever any doubt about what Big Dex actually means to this team, the number 108 would like to have a word.
According to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, Sexy Dexy has generated 108 pressures from the nose tackle position over the past four seasons. You might be sitting there thinking, "Wow, that's a lot." But it's where second place lands that makes the 108 look certifiably insane. Vita Vea is the next closest with... 32 pressures.
It’s Dexter Lawrence at No. 1 with 108, and then Vita Vea at No. 2 with 32. Combine Vea with the next three behind him -- D.J. Jones, D.J. Reader, and Jordan Davis -- and they still only beat Dex by six (114 pressures). It’s a joke.
Dexter Lawrence’s 108 pressures say everything Giants need to know
Lawrence is coming off, statistically, the worst season of his career. And even in this supposedly abominable, unforgettable year, he still finished with the ninth-highest ranking among 134 defensive tackles, with a 75.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
So yeah, let's panic.
People forget he dislocated his elbow late in 2024, ending the season on injured reserve. It's fair to question whether he was fully healthy or not in 2025, which could have been a massive factor in arguably the worst season ever by a defensive lineman -- obviously.
It also didn't help that the team failed to give him an adequate running mate, leading to him getting double-teamed into another galaxy.
It makes sense why Sexy Dexy wants more money. When he signed his four-year, $90 million deal back in 2023, he was the third-highest-paid interior defensive lineman. Fast-forward two years, and he's now tied for 11th. Are there really 10 guys worth more than No. 97?
It's understandable why Schoen is hesitant to give him the contract he's looking for. The Kansas City Chiefs have to be regretting doling out $159 million to Chris Jones, whose play has been on the decline as he enters his mid-thirties. However, it would send a terrible message -- and get the John Harbaugh era off on the worst possible start -- by giving in to his trade demands.
Related: Packers' Dexter Lawrence trade idea is so laughable even Joe Schoen would say no
This is a guy who has been through it all over the past seven years. He's routinely stuck it out when there was seemingly no end in sight, and to send him packing over a stalemate in contract talks feels like the childish thing to do. I'm not saying give him the bag, but there’s no reality where this team is better off shipping out Dex and his 108 pressures.