Who won the Giants-Bengals trade of Dexter Lawrence? Here are the grades

Sure, they got a two-time Pro Bowler on a defense starving for talent, particularly after the loss of Trey Hendrickson to free agency. However, Lawrence had a down 2025 season and is approaching the wrong side of 30, turning 29 midway through the 2026 season.

Is Lawrence's "down" season overblown? Here's what Yahoo Sports senior writer Jori Epstein wrote on the statistical downturn:

"Lawrence followed up a career-best nine sacks in 2024 with a career-low half a sack in 17 games during the 2025 season. Lawrence’s pass-rush win rate, per ESPN, registered at 8%, per ESPN’s advanced metric, while his run-stop win rate did not rank in the league’s top 10.

And yet, Lawrence also faced more double teams (71%) than 18 of the 19 interior defensive linemen who won their pass rushes within 2.5 seconds at a higher clip than he did.

There are data points to support a dip in Lawrence’s production in 2025, which some personnel evaluators also believe was reflected in the intensity of his effort — especially in defending the run. And then there are other data points that suggest the Giants’ 28th-ranked defense and 26th-ranked scoring defense would have fallen even further without Lawrence trying to fight through midseason firings at head coach and defensive coordinator as well as a personnel deficit that may not have set the group up for success.

Perhaps the Bengals didn't believe they could've landed their needed defensive prospect in the draft at No. 10. Spending that premium pick on a proven commodity, coupled with a hefty extension for that player, was bold, but it feels like they could've gotten more than a one-for-one swap. The price looks especially bonkers considering an NFC executive told Epstein that they didn't believe the Giants could get more than a second-round pick for Lawrence.

The Bengals said otherwise, investing on an older, more expensive player who won't have as much club control contractually compared to a rookie first-rounder.

Grade: C-

John Harbaugh is a big winner

Losing a prime talent like Lawrence hurts, but new Giants head coach John Harbaugh probably couldn't have dreamed of better compensation than the No. 10 pick of this draft.

The Giants are sitting in prime position for next week's big event, holding these picks in the top 40: Nos. 5, 10 and 37. That's a helluva hand to be dealt in Year 1 of a rebuild. And it's not like the Giants don't have talent on defense with Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux. The team's recent doldrums seemed to be more on the coaching side, which Harbaugh was brought in to fix.

New York also avoids any more offseason drama over Lawrence's contract and dodge a potential monster extension that would eat up the salary cap.

This draft isn't stocked with potential superstars, but there is high quality available. And the Giants just gave themselves a better shot at landing multiple elite players with the Bengals' unprecedented surrender of draft capital.

Grade: A