Dexter Lawrence Receives Major Praise and Fair Ranking After trade to Cincinnati Bengals

A little sexy Dexy Dexter Lawrence is well being ranked just like all these guys are we talked about Jamar chase a little bit ago and where he's ranked where T Higgins is in the NFL wide receiver hierarchy what about Dexter Lawrence the big splash the 350 pound splash the Bengals made in April before the draft trading the 10th overall pick for Dexter Lawrence Lawrence fourth in Sports Illustrated's defensive tackle rankings and I I think that these are pretty pretty interesting you got Jeffrey Simmons one Jalen Carter two Quinn and Williams three and Dexter Lawrence four too high too low or just right I certainly think it's too low I think Dexter Lawrence is the second best probably right now interior defensive lineman in the league but I'm okay with this I'm okay with this going into next year because of the production last year this is not blatant disrespect that we saw in the last D line rankings for Dexter Lawrence that had him at seventh that is absurd and we reacted to it as we should have with I mean it's just absolutely crazy to have him at seven four makes sense you have half a sack last year coming off a significant injury now which affected the production last season switching teams essentially traded away from the last team for obviously the 10th overall pick isn't nothing but discarded as one of the better players in the NFL which isn't something you normally see from people of Dexter Lawrence's caliber in the league so I think this is fair I do think those other three are also elite I love Jalen Carter and what he's able to do especially at his age in the league Jeffrey Simmons I think is no doubt in that number one spot and then Quinn and Williams also traded for a first-round pick last season so they're obviously pretty close together I think those four are in a league of their own compared to the other interior defensive linemen in the NFL and I expect Dexter to climb that list this year when the production gets back to what we've seen before in his career but coming off the last season I do think this is fair probably the floor for where I won't lose my mind probably the floor for where he won't lose his mind clip that clip that I think we can reuse that multiple times this is probably the floor for where I won't lose my mind I agree though in in a big way like fourth isn't disrespectful it isn't offensive could he be higher should it be higher I think we could debate that Joe Burrows certainly thinks so the Bengals certainly think so at the same time if you're the fourth best in the world at something coming off of a down year that's a heck of a year and that's what Sports Illustrated noted in these rankings that Lawrence is coming off of a down season by his standards recording just a half sack as he returned from an injury but he's a top 10 defensive tackle he also had one of the best seasons of his career in 2024 with nine sacks three consecutive Pro Bowls from 22 to 24 and was previously a two look I think that he's someone that you need to be a little bit more productive in the counting stats but you need to feel his impact and the reason I buy into this Bengals defense a big reason why a 350 pound reason why is because Dexter Lawrence should have that impact he should be able to regardless of the counting numbers should be able to get after the passer and impact the game enough against the run and against the pass that you feel him down in and down out and that's all the Bengals really that's what they're looking for and that's what's really rare to find that's what's hard to find is an interior pass usher it's why Jeffrey Simmons is number one on this list and I would not debate Simmons being number one at all I think he's awesome I do and a big part of that is he commands double teams and he can get pressure now the unique thing about him versus a Jalen Carter Quinn and Williams is his size is his unique skill set is is the the measurables that go along with winning against double teams uh getting after the passer and the pass rush juice he brings he is unique in that there aren't any none of these other guys are Dexter Lawrence from that standpoint so and we talked about this when ESPN's rankings after being first last year there's a realistic path for Dexter Lawrence to take that leap and be first on this list a year from now it would not shock me especially with the offseason work that he's putting in absolutely and I think obviously you need the counting numbers to be better or hope they will be half a sack isn't going to cut it trading the 10th overall pick for Dexter Lawrence in this defense but I think the exciting thing about putting that many resources in a guy in the interior of the defensive line instead of say a Trey Hendrickson or an edge rusher on the defense to be that guys there's many more ways for Dexter Lawrence to impact the game outside of sacks than an edge rusher it felt like when Trey wasn't getting sacks when he wasn't finishing the game which he did a lot it was a great player here for the Bengals defense but it was hard for him to impact the game on plays where he wasn't sacking the quarterback yeah I think that's the thing I'm most excited for about Dexter to have the face of this Bengals defense the star of this Bengals defense be someone who can not only affect every play in the game right there in the interior the defensive line but also make everyone around him better by eating double teams and transferring how the offensive line is going to have to handle those matchups I think he's just going to be a really really special player for this team and we talked when he was ranked seventh that if he came in around there this season then it was probably a bad trade for the Bengals or at least not something that would project them to where a lot of us are talking about this defense potentially being this season I think four is not in that same boat obviously you'd like him to get back into that best in the league conversation but if we leave this season for the Bengals and Dexter Lawrence is still in the conversation with these guys you know Jeffrey Simmons Jalen Carter Quinn and Williams for the top four interior defensive linemen in the league I think it could still be an awesome season I think coming out of these rankings you feel much better about Dexter Lawrence in this trade than potentially those ESPN ones and that's where the discrepancy really shocks me and I think that's where the nuance of interior defensive line comes in you look at the ESPN rankings and so much conversation of the half sack and they bring it up here but keep Dexter Lawrence ranked fourth and that's because of the double team percentage that's because of the amount of snaps played at nose tackle which none of these other three except for Quinn and Williams get even close to that so I think Dexter Lawrence not only does what all these other guys do at a high level but he does it from a unique position that allows him to really impact everyone else that's why the Bengals are so okay giving up pick 10 I don't think pick 10 is being traded for Quinn and Williams who's ranked ahead of Dexter Lawrence I don't think pick 10 is necessarily being traded for Jalen Carter because of some of the stuff off the field with him that goes on and Jeffrey Simmons I think is one that would certainly be in that list and a name that Tee Higgins and Jamar Chase threw around early in the offseason but Dexter Lawrence is one I wouldn't bat an eye at and that's why the Bengals did it and that's why I think it was such a great move is because he's such an outlier compared to the rest of the league and what he's able to do on the field.