'Nobody was going to beat the 10th pick:' How the Bengals wooed the Giants into trading vet Dexter Lawrence

A COUPLE OF months ago, the idea of trading a premium pick seemed foreign to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The New York Giants, conversely, never expected to move on from standout defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II. A series of unforeseen events turned these once-implausible scenarios into a reality on Saturday night.

Lawrence was traded to the Bengals straight up for the No. 10 selection in this week's NFL draft. The All-Pro defensive tackle signed a one-year, $28 million extension with the Bengals, while the Giants will reload with a pair of top-10 selections (including their own at No. 5) on Thursday night.

Talks with the Bengals started almost two weeks ago, sources with knowledge of the trade said. That was the first inkling that another top-10 pick could be within reach for the Giants in return for the dominant defensive tackle who has commanded the highest double-team rate on pass rushes (72.7%) over the past three years. Still, New York thought it was possible it could reach a resolution with Lawrence, who requested a trade on April 6, and tried to keep their longest-tenured player in New York.

Multiple league sources indicated the Giants wanted a significant haul for Lawrence. After trade conversations with the team, those same sources came away thinking that any deal would begin with a first-round pick. The consensus still seemed to be that his value would be either a late first-round pick or a second-rounder plus more assets.

When the Bengals offered the 10th selection, that even surprised the Giants, sources said.

"They offered the most," according to a Giants source. "Nobody was going to beat the 10th pick."

Despite their reluctance to trade Lawrence, the Giants thought this was the best move for the organization, sources said. New York is confident it can sufficiently stock the interior of its defensive line through the draft and with a veteran free agent. Defensive tackles D.J. Reader and Shelby Harris both visited the facility in recent weeks.

Lawrence was open to a fresh start since the beginning of last year, league sources told ESPN. At the time, he had just watched his friend and former teammate, Saquon Barkley, fight with the organization for several years over his contract, then leave for the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles and win Super Bowl LIX. Lawrence's close friend, Leonard Williams, was shipped to the Seattle Seahawks in a 2023 midseason trade.

The frustration was bubbling for Lawrence as his friends left for more desirable organizations and losses mounted. The Giants went 7-27 over the past two years. It didn't help that Lawrence looked for a raise last offseason, with three years left on his current deal, and with a contract adjustment that included $3 million in potential incentives. He collected $1 million of those.

Lawrence informed the Giants after the combine in February that he wanted a new deal or trade. The two sides never got close on a contract structure that worked for both parties. That Lawrence was coming off his worst statistical season as a pass rusher was something the Giants considered in negotiations, said one Giants source. The team felt he was already making decent money -- $42 million over the final two years of his existing deal -- and his performance in 2025 didn't exactly strengthen his case.

The team was still trying to make it work with Lawrence even though it was aware that a trade for the No. 10 pick was possible, according to a Giants source. The Giants were offering more money to the $20 million Lawrence is due this season, but they also wanted to make sure the deal had a favorable structure for the team.

Lawrence was not interested in the Giants' offers, sources said.

Lawrence's trade request was not a hollow one, according to a source close to the defensive tackle. He really wanted out, and the player understood the ramifications once he made the request. Yes, the Giants and Lawrence's reps discussed his contractual future, but as the source put it, "that's been happening for two years" without any real progress.

The two sides reached an impasse last week. That set the stage for the trade that neither side could have envisioned only a few months ago. The Bengals ultimately got a difference-maker on defense to try to capitalize on Joe Burrow's prime. The Giants added a premium pick less than a week before a pivotal draft for the franchise, their first with new coach John Harbaugh in charge.

"Win-win-win," a source said of the deal for the Bengals, Lawrence and Giants.

THE BENGALS WERE in no-man's land with the No. 10 draft pick. There was no guarantee to secure a premier defensive player at that spot, sources said. The Lawrence trade took the guesswork out of it, giving a defense in transition a centerpiece.

"This draft is bad enough where people don't want to pick after a certain spot," a veteran scout with an AFC team said.

The Bengals consider themselves squarely in the win-now window with Burrow and the offense surrounding him.

"We don't want to throw away chances at finding guys in the draft who can be long-term real guys for us," Bengals executive Duke Tobin told reporters at the NFL combine. "We've found guys in about every round who have changed our team and been exceptional players."

But as Burrow said last offseason, something needed to change. And instead of waiting to see what could happen in the days leading up to the draft or how the top nine picks shake out, Cincinnati acted first.

And they did something that had been foreign for a franchise that historically prefers to mitigate risk. The Lawrence trade marked the first time the Bengals have traded a top-10 pick for a player in the common draft era (since 1966), according to ESPN Research.

The move underscored the sense of urgency Cincinnati feels ahead of a pivotal offseason. Burrow's contentment amid a three-year stretch in which the team has gone 24-37 has been the main talking point surrounding the franchise.

During the final stretch of this past season, Burrow said the team needs to change how things are done operationally in order to improve.

"What we've been doing hasn't worked the last couple of years," Burrow said on Dec. 31. "We have to think outside the box and get creative about where we go from here."

In interviews throughout the offseason, Bengals players weren't shy about referencing big-name players who could be good trade acquisitions for Cincinnati.

But those types of deals have been uncommon for a franchise that is known for its conservative, pragmatic approach to roster building.

That all changed with the trade for Lawrence. And it speaks to the urgency the Bengals feel after going from back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances in 2021 and 2022 to missing the postseason in three straight seasons.

THE BENGALS ARE betting big on Lawrence to bounce back from a down year, by his standards. The thought process is that Lawrence should be more productive when he's healthy and happy.

Lawrence is "jacked" to be a Bengal and sees a championship window with Burrow, said the source close to Lawrence. "He's very pleased with the trade."

Lawrence has a good relationship with Bengals DT B.J. Hill, who appeared to be teasing the potential move on his X account.

The source close to Lawrence said the player and the Bengals felt confident a new deal would be reached as part of the trade, eventually landing on the one-year, $28 million extension after the physical was passed.

The news of Lawrence passing his physical came less than 15 hours after the trade broke, signaling urgency on both sides to complete the deal. A Giants source acknowledged that getting the physical done quickly was important, with the draft only days away. It's also noteworthy against the backdrop of the Maxx Crosby trade between the Ravens and Raiders, which fell apart after the Ravens raised concerns over his physical. Several NFL teams believe expedited physicals could become the norm in the aftermath of the Crosby snafu.

According to sources, Cincinnati considered Lawrence's original contract a positive. It's now essentially a three-year, $70-million deal ($23.3 million per year) with the one-year extension, which is good value for a top player. As one team source pointed out, acquiring Lawrence would likely cost more than that on the open market. Seven defensive tackles in the NFL play on deals worth $24 million or more annually.

This past season was a mess for Lawrence from the start. He came into training camp out of shape and barely practiced, coming off an elbow injury that required surgery late in 2024 and forced him to miss the final five games of that season.

Lawrence just never seemed to be in a good place. The tension was palpable. He had one of his least productive seasons despite playing 17 games, finishing with 31 tackles and 0.5 sacks, but he still refused to make excuses. He vehemently refuted his elbow was a problem, despite wearing a brace at times.

Lawrence's demeanor and tone throughout a 4-13 season indicated his time in New York might be coming to an end. But at the NFL combine, when asked about Lawrence's future, general manager Joe Schoen repeatedly seemed perplexed.

"I don't know where that came from," he said.

Harbaugh had a conversation with Lawrence not long after he was hired. It did not touch on his contract. Harbaugh later described the conversation as "great." But once business came up almost two months after the combine, those talks went through Lawrence's agent, Joel Segal.

The Giants thought the likelihood was that a motivated Lawrence would bounce back after a down season and were willing to make some concessions, just not rip up his contract and treat it like free agency. The team was wary about that approach and the kind of precedent it would set for other players.

Harbaugh and the Giants knew a few weeks before Lawrence's trade request became public that it was a possibility. The coach was at times communicating directly with Segal to try to smooth over the situation.

Yet merely days later, the trade was finalized -- igniting what could be a very consequential draft week for both teams.