Four Ways Dexter Lawrence Trade Impacts Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens could be affected in more ways than one by their division rival's bold move to vastly upgrade their defense.

Oct 13, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) is sacked by New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) in the 3rd quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Ravens aren't the only team in the AFC North willing to make uncharacteristically aggressive moves to improve on the side of the ball that has been holding them back for multiple seasons: defense.

Prior to signing four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Trey Hendrickson to the largest free agent contract in franchise history, they reportedly were willing to part with their first-round pick in this and next year's NFL Draft in order to acquire five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby from the Las Vegas Raiders prior to the start of the new league. A failed physical caused the deal to fall through before it could become official, but even their pivot was far from their usual approach to improving the roster and allocating resources.

The Cincinnati Bengals are notoriously frugal and covet the five-year's worth of team control and cap savings that come with a first-round draft pick. However, that historical precedent didn't stop them from making one of the most surprising and boldest moves of the offseason over the weekend to improve their much-maligned defense.

Not only did they trade the No. 10 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the New York Giants in exchange for three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, but they also reportedly agreed to a one-year extension worth $28 million with the 28-year-old former first-rounder to put him back among the highest-paid interior defensive linemen in the league again.

This move could and likely very well may have ripple effects that directly impact the Ravens moving forward when it comes to their own roster construction and their odds of returning to the top of the division and Super Bowl contention.

Ravens might have to add a veteran DT before market gets picked clean

Detroit Lions nose tackle DJ Reader (98) warms up before the NFL game against the Tennessee Titans at Ford Field in Detroit on Oct. 27, 2024. | Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Regardless of what happened over the course of the draft, the Ravens were likely going to add a veteran interior defensive lineman prior to the start of training camp, but it is assumed that they'd wait until after the May 1 deadline for the compensatory pick formula to be affected. Now that Lawrence has been traded, other teams looking to bolster their trenches with more experience might not be willing to wait much longer, and neither should Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta.

While the Ravens place a higher value on compensatory picks than most other teams in the league, forgoing one of the projected two fifth-round picks on Day 3 to ensure they aren't dire straits in one of the most vital parts of their front seven is worth it.

One veteran free agent that they certainly have on their radar is D.J. Reader, since they had him in for a visit last month, but if DeCosta wants to ensure they can still add him, it might have to be sooner rather than later, especially since the Giants just had him in for a visit last week.

The 31-year-old is viewed as one of, if not the top, available defensive tackle on the open market, and now his asking price likely just went up. Although he has struggled with injuries in the past, he is coming off playing the second full season of his career, as he appeared in all 17 games for the Detroit Lions in 2025 but didn't record a sack or tackle for loss.

Some other veteran defensive tackles the Ravens could pivot to looking at if Reader gets poached by their former long-time head coach, John Harbaugh, include Larry Ogunjobi, Shelby Harris, and future Hall of Famer Calais Campbell, who previously played in Baltimore. Campbell is the most seasoned of the bunch by far at 39 years old and will be 40 by the time the regular season starts, but he is also the most consistently disruptive and productive of the bunch, having recorded five or more sacks in each of his last four seasons.

Drafting a DT early might be a necessity

Texas Tech's Lee Hunter runs to the sideline after making a tackle against BYU during the Big 12 Conference championship football game, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2025, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Unlike last year, the interior defensive line group in this year's draft class isn't nearly as robust when it comes to talented players who can come in and contribute at a high or at least starting caliber level throughout all three days. If some of the Ravens' top veteran targets at the position come off the market prior to the draft, their strategy with their three early-round picks could change.

Instead of holding off until Day 3 to address the position in the fourth round or with one of the first of their four selections in the fifth, they could look to target a prospect like Clemson's Peter Woods or Ohio State's Kayden McDonald in the first round. On Day 2, they could look at Georgia's Christen Miller, Texas Tech's Lee Hunter or Caleb Banks or wait until the third to pick up someone like Oklahoma's Gracen Halton.

Now that the Giants hold a pair of top 10 picks, there's even more of a chance that they could target a prospect that the Ravens might covet and are hoping falls to them, such as Arizona State standout wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, who has been mocked to land in Baltimore in numerous projections. There have already been reports suggesting that New York is leaning toward taking the former Sun Devil at No. 10 overall if he's still on the board by the time they're on the clock for the second time on opening night of the draft.

Bengals could become an even more formidable foe

Bengals Joseph Ossai (58) helps take down Ravens Lamar Jackson (8) for the Bengals to take the ball during their game against the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Thanksgiving Thursday November 27, 2025. | Phil Didion/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ravens and Bengals have had some epic battles over the years during the Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow era, with most of them resulting in shootouts. Despite having one of the most high-powered offenses in the league, Cincinnati has missed the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, due in large part to how woefully inept and utterly ineffective they've been on defense at both stopping the run and rushing the passer outside of Hendrickson, who now plays for Baltimore.

Adding Lawrence continues a trend of going all-in on fixing the glaring weakness by the front office, as all of their notable moves this offseason have been on defense. They signed a pair of young former Super Bowl champions in edge rusher Boye Mafe and safety Bryan Cook, pounced on signing two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jonathan Allen a day after he was released by the Minnesota Vikings, and signed versatile safety Kyle Dugger as well.

It remains to be seen how well all of these new pieces will mesh in Cincinnati, but there's no denying that the Bengals are a much more talented team on both sides of the ball now than they were at the end of last season and in recent memory overall.

Ravens might target a center with more size in the draft

Oct 11, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Florida Gators offensive lineman Jake Slaughter (66) sets the ball during the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The first goal for every team in the league each year is to win its division because that is the only guaranteed way of making the playoffs and hosting a game in mid-to-late January. This can and often leads to front offices building their rosters up to combat the other three teams in their division while also looking to cater to the specific needs of their respective schemes on both sides of the ball needed to execute.

Since Jackson burst onto the scene with the first of his two MVP-winning seasons, all three of the Ravens divisional opponents have gone about tailoring multiple aspects of their defensive personnel to try to better limit how much he can gash them with his arm and legs. They're targeting more athletic and sometimes lighter linebackers or bigger safety types to play the spy on him, and value edge defenders who can explode upfield and bend the corner more than just bull rush through blockers.

On the flipside, the Ravens lost three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum this offseason and will likely be looking to the draft to find his replacement. While many pundits have tabbed Iowa's Logan Jones as the ideal successor, he's athletic but undersized at 6-foot-2 and 299 pounds.

Now that they are slated to face the 6-foot-4 and 340-pound Lawrence at a minimum of twice a year through the 2028 season, they might want to go with a bigger prospect at that spot whose athleticism is comparable to that of Jones. Some prospects who fit that mold and could hear their names called by the Ravens in the third or fourth round include Florida's Jake Slaughter (6-foot-4 and 303 pounds), Texas A&M's Trey Zuhn III (6-foot-6 and 312 pounds), Kansas State's Sam Hecht (6-foot-4 and 303 pounds) and Auburn's Connor Lew (6-foot-3 and 310 pounds).