New York Giants Trade DT Dexter Lawrence To Cincinnati Bengals For Top-10 Pick
There's been a major trade in the NFL just five days before the 2026 NFL Draft involving the New York Giants and their longtime starting defensive lineman.
According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Giants are trading three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals.
"Draft week blockbuster: The Giants are trading three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals in a deal that will include the 10th overall pick going to New York, per ESPN sources. The Giants now head into Thursday night with the 5th and 10th overall picks," Schefter wrote on X.
Per ESPN's Jordan Raanan, the Giants will receive the No. 10 overall pick that the Bengals had in next week's draft straight up. No other pieces are being moved.
It's a seismic move that gives the Giants two picks in the top-10 heading into Thursday. They already held the No. 5 overall pick, and will now have two picks in the top-10.
It will be the first time since 2023 that an NFL team will have multiple picks in the top-10 (Houston Texans) though only the first time since 2022 that the Giants will have two picks there.
For a Giants team that is in the middle of rebuilding under new head coach John Harbaugh, it's a move that could accelerate that rebuild if their two picks pan out (or if they make more deals between now and next weekend).
Lawrence & the Bengals
It's true that Lawrence has been one of the NFL's best defensive linemen for several years now, but 2025 wasn't exactly his best season.
Despite playing his highest snap total since 2022 and the third-highest of his career, he finished the 2025 season with 31 tackles, .5 sacks, four tackles for loss and eight QB hits while adding an interception and four passes defended. Those are good numbers but not nearly as good as what he managed to do in just 12 games the year before.
The Bengals have been bogged down by their bad defense for several years now and with Trey Hendrickson leaving in free agency, they had to get someone on the defensive line to keep it from being a turnstile. That said, it feels like a very risky investment for a team whose Super Bowl window seems to be closing a lot faster with Joe Burrow than they might like.
Who do you think won this trade?
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This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 6:05 PM.