The Cincinnati Bengals made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason in April when they acquired former Clemson star and All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence from the New York Giants in exchange for the No. 10 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The deal came in the wake of Lawrence requesting to be traded from the Giants after he and the team couldn’t come to terms on a contract extension. As part of the trade, the Bengals signed Lawrence to a new contract extension that makes him one of the NFL’s highest-paid D-linemen.

After the one-year, $28 million extension, Lawrence is under contract with the Bengals for three years (through the 2028 season) at a total value of $70 million, adding to his previous deal.

ESPN talked to sources around the NFL – scouts, executives and coaches — about their favorite moves of the offseason, and the Bengals trading for Lawrence made that list of the eight best moves.

Here’s what ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote about the deal, and the praise it drew from an AFC executive:

Cincinnati was not assured to get its desired defensive player with the 10th pick in April’s draft, and with Lawrence’s trade request from the Giants sincere, the Bengals outbid other suitors for him.

As one AFC executive put it, teams have given up more for worse players in the past. And by extending Lawrence’s contract, Cincinnati is on the hook for $70 million over three years, which is relatively affordable for ESPN’s No. 1 interior defensive lineman in 2025.

“Cincinnati wasn’t getting close to that kind of deal with Trey Hendrickson [now with the Ravens], and here they get a premier defensive tackle, which you can build a defense around,” an AFC executive said.

Despite a down 2025 season with the Giants, by his own lofty standards, there’s no doubt Lawrence has established himself as a dominant interior defensive line presence in the league.

Lawrence collected three straight Pro Bowl selections from 2022-24 and also earned All-Pro honors in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He became the first Giants player to be voted to three straight Pro Bowls since safety Landon Collins from 2016-18, and if he hadn’t suffered a season-ending elbow injury in 2024, he could have very well earned his third consecutive All-Pro selection as well.

Heading into his eighth NFL season in 2026, Lawrence has racked up 341 total tackles, 40 tackles for loss and 30.5 sacks in 109 career games (102 starts) since being selected by the Giants in the first round (17th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.