![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/joe-burrow-cincinnati-bengals_457c35.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
(Photo by Megan Briggs\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> didn\u2019t wait until draft night to make a blockbuster move, sending the 10th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the New York Giants<\/a> for Dexter Lawrence<\/a> II. <\/p>\n Cincinnati is looking to improve its defense, which was a major issue for the team as it failed to make the playoffs for a third straight season. As a result, the Bengals decided to take a big swing to bolster the defense, which has already added Jonathan Allen, Boye Mafe<\/a>, and Bryan Cook this offseason.<\/p>\n The Bengals are hoping the defense can be serviceable at stopping the opposing team, because with a healthy Joe Burrow<\/a>, the Cincinnati offense will be putting up points. In a video on April 19<\/a>, Lawrence spoke with Dan Hoard and shared his thoughts on having Burrow as his new QB.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, for the longest, I\u2019ve been thinking he\u2019s one of the top quarterbacks in the league, if not the top,\u201d Lawrence said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be fun to share a field with him and to watch him up close, to see how he prepares, how he studies, how he leads guys and gets guys going. I\u2019m excited for that part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Moreover, Lawrence shared his initial reaction when he learned that the Giants were trading him to the Bengals and joining a team that\u2019s looking to contend right now. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a long process, but once I heard Cincinnati was in that option, I got excited immediately to play with guys like Ja\u2019Marr [Chase], Joe and Tee [Higgins], and then alongside my best friend, B.J. [Hill],\u201d Lawrence added. \u201cI\u2019m excited, man. God got me through it, and right now I\u2019m ready to let my light shine and go win some games.\u201d<\/p>\n Dexter Lawrence Ready to Eelevate Bengals Defense<\/p>\n The Bengals have failed to make the playoffs in the last three seasons, and it\u2019s disappointing, given that Cincinnati reached the Super Bowl during the 2021 season and went to the AFC title game the following campaign. <\/p>\n Nonetheless, Lawrence is hopeful that he can be the piece that gets the Bengals back to the playoffs and on a deep run again.<\/p>\n \u201cI do,\u201d Lawrence said when asked if he can be a major piece to getting the Bengals back to the playoffs. \u201cI know people are going to say pressure, but I embrace it; I bring it in. It doesn\u2019t affect me, the pressure. I just know who I am and I stay true to that, and I\u2019m going to be the guy to help this defense go to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n Jonathan Allen Sees Super Bowl Potential in Cincinnati<\/p>\n Allen was the other interior defensive lineman to arrive this offseason and noted that his decision to join the Bengals was to contend for a Super Bowl. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is one of the few places I can compete for a Super Bowl and have a chance to showcase my talent,\u201d Allen told the Bengals website on March 13<\/a>. \u201cWhen you see what they have on the offensive side of the ball, that\u2019s a dream for a defensive lineman. <\/p>\n \u201cI think people would be lining up to play with a guy like Joe Burrow and the offense they have. Then the young guys you have on defense and the pieces you\u2019re adding, I really think this team is going somewhere.<\/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 Megan Briggs\/Getty Images) The Cincinnati Bengals didn\u2019t wait until draft night to make a blockbuster…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":870229,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2053],"tags":[228,227,256,2296,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-870228","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\/116433583143286142","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870228","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=870228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}