Zac Taylor Breaks Down Bengals Dexter Lawrence Trade, Impact Felt in Building

Dexter Lawrence has made his mark on the Bengals roster already through his leadership, and it won't be long until we see him do so on the field as well.

This is everything that the Bengals organization and head coach Zac Taylor could have dreamed of so far when they acquired Lawrence in exchange for the 10th overall pick in the NFL draft.

Taylor recently appeared on The Rich Eisen Show where he broke down exactly when he knew the trade for Lawrence was possible, where he was when the trade was made official, and pointed out the relief felt inside the building.

"I knew it was a possibility probably the week leading up to when it happened" Taylor said. "I was in Chicago, I had flown out to watch my son play basketball when I got the news and had to turn around and catch a flight back so I could go greet Dexter. But that was great news to get, I was fired up to get it, we were hoping it would come to fruition but a lot of those things sometimes they don't, there's a lot of excitement internally and then it doesn't work out, and you just move forward."

Taylor also acknowledged how fortunate he was that the front office was willing to send the necessary capital to acquire Lawrence.

"I was fortunate that our organization was willing to give up the 10th overall pick, which is a big deal for a known quantity that's going to come in here, provide leadership, and really give our team a boost" Taylor said.

Foundational Piece Of Roster

Newly signed Cincinnati Bengals defense tackle Dexter Lawrence speaks in a press conference for the first time since joining the team at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Monday, April 20, 2026. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Bengals acquiring Lawrence by himself is a strong move for the front office as Taylor pointed out, however his impact in the locker room and on the field will be what matters most, thankfully he is already proving to be irreplaceable as a leader and mentor.

"He's a foundational part of any defense he's going to be a part of, he's a foundational part of this team" Taylor said. "I think when our team sees, 'oh man, the Bengals are willing to go to do that for us, now we gotta live up to our side of it', particularly on offense we got to go score some points and let these guys tee off with a lead. So adding a guy like Dexter, adding a guy like Jonathan Allen, Bryan Cook, Boye Mafe, a lot of the guys we've added on that defensive side of the ball have given us a lot of energy and excitement."

Taylor declared the team is in a good spot to improve going forward.

"We put ourselves in a really good spot" Taylor said, "I really like our team chemistry across the board, I really like it on that side of the ball. I think we've added some real veteran leadership with a lot of guys we have, and so that's not only gonna infuse it into the team, but its going to help bring along a lot of the young guys on that side of the ball that we're really counting on to continue to take the next step. So I just really like the blend of experience we have over there and I'm really excited to see that group come together and make some plays for us."

With young players such as Myles Murphy showing strong signs of growth in the latter half of last season, adding veterans like Allen, Mafe, and an elite talent such as Lawrence to the Bengals defensive line room should only assist with Murphy potentially hitting the next step in his development as an edge rusher.

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