One Bengals Offseason Move Could Haunt Franchise for Years

The Bengals pushed in a valuable draft chip to the middle of the table this offseason, and Sports Illustrated's Eva Geitheim thinks it could haunt them.

She picked a questionable offseason decision for every NFL team, and potentially overpaying for Dexter Lawrence II was her Bengals pick.

Star Addition

Jul 29, 2026; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) walks on the field during training camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cincinnati sent the New York Giants the 10th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft for the three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle.

"A week before the draft, the Bengals made an uncharacteristic blockbuster trade by acquiring Dexter Lawrence II from the Giants for the No. 10 pick," Geitheim wrote. "Paying a top-10 pick for Lawrence was a steep price and could come back to bite the Bengals if Lawrence doesn’t rebound from a down season in 2025 or help the Cincinnati defense turn things around. The Bengals notably could have used that pick on star prospect Caleb Downs, who was not selected until the No. 11 pick. If Downs proves to be a superstar and Lawrence doesn’t pan out, it could also be a blow to the Bengals."

After an offseason as strong as the Bengals put together, this is really the only big decision that could haunt them.

Letting Trey Hendrickson walk was a foregone conclusion, and given the major injury he went through, Cincinnati may be getting out at the perfect time. Outside of that, Cincinnati paid a solid market rate for their free agent additions (if not a discount with some deals), and the only big swing was Lawrence.

Sure, he declined in 2025, but that production would still have been by far the best on the Bengals' historically bad defensive front. They don't need him to be the best nose tackle in the league to justify this draft capital. He needs to be a top 10 force and help bring up the room around him, which is happening more and more each day of training camp.

B.J. Hill was the only Bengals defensive tackle to eclipse 20 quarterback pressures last year. Lawrence has never been below 29 pressures, and he's averaging 49.5 pressures per season since 2022. It would be shocking if Cincinnati ends up regretting this deal for a 28-year-old mauler.

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