Giants fans have another fresh reason to feel good about the Dexter Lawrence trade, and it comes from how the league is talking about him now.
Lawrence was still strong by Pro Football Focus standards, but the broader perception around him has shifted. Last season, he looked less explosive and a little off his usual pace, and that has started to show up in how NFL decision-makers view him. In a recent ESPN ranking of the league’s top 10 defensive tackles, put together from votes by coaches, front-office members and scouts, Lawrence came in at No. 7 after sitting No. 1 a year earlier.
Jeremy Fowler also reported that an unnamed NFC scout believes Lawrence will be “rejuvenated” on the Bengals.
That kind of comment only strengthens the case that the Giants did the right thing in April. The move can be framed as a swap of Lawrence for Francis Mauigoa, but the bigger picture is simpler: New York moved on from an expensive player who no longer wanted to be there. Lawrence had publicly demanded a trade, and even a new contract can only smooth things over so much.
The idea that a player might get a boost simply by leaving is the part that should stand out to the Giants. It came from one anonymous scout, sure, but it would not be shocking if plenty around the league felt the same way.
None of that means Lawrence’s departure leaves the Giants without questions. Even without him, they still look capable of making the NFC East interesting.
The debate is whether Lawrence would have given them a better shot at getting back to the postseason. That depends on how much faith you have that the tension could have faded after the extension, or whether the awkwardness would have lingered anyway.
Lawrence’s supporters still have arguments to make. No one is claiming, on paper, that Lawrence is worse than D.J.
Reader or Shelby Harris. And the Giants also lost Roy Robertson-Harris to a likely season-ending Achilles injury.
Still, if last season was the start of a decline for Lawrence, then New York made the right call.
The trade also skews in the Giants’ favor for now because of where Lawrence was drafted.
As for a revenge game, Giants fans will have to wait. The Bengals and Giants won’t meet unless they end up facing each other in the Super Bowl.
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