Bengals Deal Named Among 5 Best NFL Offseason Moves Ahead of 2026 Campaign

Cincinnati pulled plenty of stops to improve its team in the last few months.

Cincinnati Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin gives a thumbs up during warmups before the NFL Week 1 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Bengals made waves across the NFL with the trade for Dexter Lawrence this offseason. It was one of the biggest news drops of the spring, and FOX Sports had it among the top 10 best moves of the NFL break period.

Cincinnati traded its 10th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft for Lawrence in early April. FOX Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman ranked it fifth among his best moves of the 2026 offseason.

Big Fella Making Waves

Former Clemson football defensive player Dexter Lawrence during the first half at the annnual Clemson Orange and White spring game at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina Saturday, March 28, 2026. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lawrence is a massive swing piece in the AFC North and overall Super Bowl title race this fall.

"The Cincinnati Bengals' defense has been terrible the last three years, enough to keep a prolific offense with quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase out of the playoffs," Auman wrote this week. "If the Bengals are going to return to the postseason, they need at least an average defense, and giving up such a high pick to get Dexter Lawrence from the New York Giants shows the urgency to improve there. He had made three straight Pro Bowls before a down year in 2025, and he'll join Boye Mafe and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, plus rookie edge rusher Cashius Howell, in a new-look defensive front.

"It wasn't that long ago that the Bengals made a Super Bowl and the AFC Championship Game in back-to-back seasons. So, Lawrence is the kind of headliner that shows their willingness to be a more complete team and help the offense out as they try to get back to those lofty goals."

Lawrence, 28, still figures to have plenty of great years left if he can stay healthy in the middle of Cincinnati's defense.

He discussed it all during his opening press conference in April.

"Everything is about perspective," Lawrence said about getting back to an All-Pro level he reached in 2022 and 2023. "It's a process every day ... I know what it takes to get to that level. And you go through your process, like even when you're on the field, you go through a process. You don't grow weary of anything. And you might not be successful this day, but the next day, you learn from it, and you grow from there.

"So I think I needed last season, it became a perspective for me. I needed that season to get to where I am now."

Early returns scream great chemistry and vibes in the Bengals locker room with Lawrence. Everyone is pretty healthy right now and rowing together during offseason workouts.

Check out the full piece from Auman here.

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