![\"Dexter](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/dexter-lawrence-new-york-giants_3d13e5.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
(Photo by Candice Ward\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The issue for the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> last season, outside of Joe Burrow getting injured early, was their defense. Cincinnati\u2019s defense cost the team wins, and the Bengals\u2019 front office has attempted to fix the problem this offseason.<\/p>\n Over the offseason, the Bengals have added edge rusher Boye Mafe, safety Bryan Cook, safety Kyle Dugger, and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen. Nonetheless, could Cincinnati make a major trade to solidify its interior defensive line for next season?<\/p>\n On April 6, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported<\/a>, citing league sources, that New York Giants<\/a>\u00a0defensive tackle\u00a0Dexter Lawrence II\u00a0has requested a trade, and he will not be participating in the team\u2019s offseason workout program that began on April 7. <\/p>\n Ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, the New York Post\u2019s Adam Schein shared potential landing spots for Lawrence and trade packages that could entice the Giants<\/a>, one of them being from the Bengals. Schein believes that Cincinnati could offer both its second and third-round selections for Lawrence. <\/p>\n \u201cHere\u2019s the list in terms of teams that interest me and spots that interest me, and I think that Bengals one is the one that I kind of want to focus on here,\u201d Schein said in a April 7 video from the New York Post<\/a>. \u201cI wish I was convinced that they can get a first\u2011round pick. I\u2019m not. I hope I\u2019m wrong on that, and it only takes one\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cI am going to be fascinated to see how this plays out, and I really think that you have to explore everything, including that Cincinnati package. Look, I don\u2019t want to trade him, but if you don\u2019t want to pay him, one of these teams is going to have to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n Cincinnati Receive Strong Message Regarding Caleb Downs<\/p>\n As far as who the Bengals could take in the first round, there are several names in connection with Cincinnati. In an article published on March 31<\/a>, ESPN\u2019s Matt Bowen believes that Cincinnati is the ideal team for former Ohio State Buckeyes<\/a> safety Caleb Downs.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Downs could go higher in the top 10, but this was the best fit in my eyes after the Bengals\u00a0signed\u00a0safety\u00a0Bryan Cook\u00a0in free agency,\u201d Bowen wrote. \u201cUnder coordinator Al Golden, Downs would be an interchangeable safety. He could rotate low in single-high zone, while playing over the top from depth.<\/p>\n \u201cPlus, with Downs\u2019 ability to create disruption near the line of scrimmage, Golden can play him as a big nickelback in three-safety personnel. He has the urgent play demeanor to set the identity of Cincinnati\u2019s defense.\u201d<\/p>\n Jonathan Allen Gets Blunt About Joining Bengals<\/p>\n Another addition that the Bengals made on defense was Allen. On March 13, Allen spoke with the media about signing with the Bengals, and one of the reasons Cincinnati was an ideal spot for him was that he sees himself fitting into the schemes of defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery and defensive coordinator Al Golden.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s one of the things that excited me the most about coming here,\u201d Allen said (h\/t\u00a0Bengals.com<\/a>). \u201cThey\u2019re talking about moving me around, getting some one-on-ones and really being able to get after the passer and shut down the run, the things I love to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tEduardo Razo<\/a> Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Bengals\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty (Photo by Candice Ward\/Getty Images) The issue for the Cincinnati Bengals last season, outside of Joe Burrow…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860243,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2067],"tags":[7,519,1917,56,2321,2469,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-860242","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-giants","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-giants","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-giants","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkgiants","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116367266654451522","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}