New Bengals Star Ranked Among Top 10 Defensive Tackles by NFL Voices

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler is rolling out his sourced NFL player position rankings this week, and the defensive tackle rundown is live. Cincinnati had its biggest story of the offseason on full display as Dexter Lawrence II checked in at No. 7 overall after NFL scouts, executives, and coaches ranked him No. 1 last offseason.

Fowler talks to a bunch of voices within the league to hammer out these top 10s at each spot, and the Bengals' big marquee addition got some love.

Still Near The Top

Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) during minicamp, Tuesday, June 16, 2026, at Kettering Health Practice Fields in downtown Cincinnati. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Lawrence is still feared, but the 2025 drop-off got noticed in a big way.

At 28 years old, an elite season could easily get him back into the top three of this ranking next July.

"I think he'll be rejuvenated there," an NFC scout said to Fowler about Lawrence moving from the NFC's Giants to the AFC's Bengals. "He wasn't happy in New York. He's got to keep his conditioning in check, but when he's at his best, he's next to impossible to block."

Fowler expanded more on the drop, as Lawrence appears to be fully locked into his new home. The road grader was part of every portion of the voluntary offseason program and Minicamp.

"Lawrence fell six spots, but the drop in his play isn't that steep," Fowler noted. "The voting between the third and seventh spots was close. That said, Lawrence's 0.5 sacks in 2025 were a career low, and he failed to make the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2021. But no defensive tackle gets more attention from offensive lines. Lawrence faced a double-team 71.3% of the time in 2025, a league high for players with at least 300 pass-rush opportunities. The Bengals acquired Lawrence via trade with the Giants, and the team is pleased with his leadership this offseason."

The suspected (and real) drop-offs from Lawrence's peak in 2023 (career-high 92.3 Pro Football Focus grade during that All-Pro season) have already wormed their way into his ears this offseason.

He knows there is plenty left in the tank.

"Everything is about perspective," Lawrence said in April 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 today, 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."

Cincinnati has zero reason to think Lawrence won't be at least the seventh-best defensive tackle in the NFL this coming season, if not better.

Check out the full ranking here.

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