![\"Dexter](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776589102_651_dexter-lawrence-new-york-giants_85df00.jpg\")
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(Photo by Ishika Samant\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
On April 18, ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter reported<\/a>, citing sources, that the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> made a blockbuster trade to improve their defense as the acquired Dexter Lawrence<\/a> II from the New York Giants<\/a>. In return, the Bengals sent the 10th overall pick from the 2026 NFL<\/a> Draft.<\/p>\n The trade follows a breakdown in contract talks between the Giants and Lawrence. The 28-year-old still has two years left on his deal, but none of it is guaranteed. After seven seasons in New York, he ultimately asked to be traded.<\/p>\n Now, the question is, what will Cincinnati do regarding the player\u2019s contract? On April 18, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported<\/a>, citing sources, that the Bengals are expected to hammer out a significant long-term deal with Lawrence as part of the trade, once he passes his physical.<\/p>\n Last season with the Giants, Lawrence posted a 75.6 overall PFF defensive grade<\/a>, ranking ninth among 134 qualified interior defensive linemen. His 84.5 pass-rush grade placed seventh in that group, while his 57.0 run-defense grade came in 56th.<\/p>\n As a pass rusher, he produced 34 total pressures, including 27 hurries and seven quarterback hits, though he didn\u2019t record a sack. Against the run, he finished with 22 solo tackles.<\/p>\n Who Should the Bengals Target on Day 2 of the Draft?<\/p>\n With their first-round pick gone and barring any trade that allows them to move back into Round 1, the Bengals will now have to wait until No. 41 to make a selection. <\/p>\n As for who they could select on Day 2, FanSided\u2019s Justin Carter floated the name of Zion Young as someone the Bengals should look to draft in the second round to replace Hendrickson.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Hendrickson gone from a defense that already had plenty of holes, the Bengals are going to need some guys to step up,\u201d\u00a0Carter wrote in his April 11 article<\/a>. \u201cSpecifically, 2025 first-round pick Shemar Stewart<\/a> has to prove he was worth that investment.<\/p>\n \u201cBut adding another edge rusher in the draft should be a priority as well. I wouldn\u2019t go there at Pick No. 10 because defensive back is an even bigger concern, but when the Bengals are on the clock at Pick No. 41, taking the best available edge rusher seems like a good idea, and Missouri\u2019s Zion Young might be that guy.\u201d<\/p>\n Why Zion Young Makes Sense for Cincinnati on Day 2<\/p>\n Moreover, Carter explained why Young would be the ideal player for the Bengals to target in the 2026\u00a0NFL\u00a0Draft to replace Hendrickson.<\/p>\n \u201cYoung is built to be an NFL edge rusher as far as his physical build goes, though he has to work on getting off the line faster to ensure he can get into the backfield and get to the quarterback,\u201d Carter added.<\/p>\n Last season at Missouri, Young posted an 84.0 overall PFF defensive grade, ranking 48th out of 852 qualified edge defenders. His 81.6 pass-rush grade placed 81st, while his 85.1 run-defense mark came in 27th at the position.<\/p>\n As a pass rusher, he produced 53 total pressures, including eight sacks, 30 hurries, and 15 quarterback hits. Against the run, he logged 21 solo tackles and forced two fumbles over the course of the season.<\/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 Ishika Samant\/Getty Images) On April 18, ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter reported, citing sources, that the Cincinnati…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868106,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2053],"tags":[228,227,256,2296,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-869774","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-bengals","8":"tag-bengals","9":"tag-cincinnati","10":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","11":"tag-cincinnatibengals","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116430550780155183","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869774","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=869774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}