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The New York Giants have reportedly traded former All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for the No. 10 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Adam Schefter Saturday (April 19) night.
The Giants already hold the No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which is set to begin on Thursday (April 23) night.
"Draft week blockbuster: The Giants are trading three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals in a deal that will include the 10th overall pick going to New York, per ESPN sources. The Giants now head into Thursday night with the 5th and 10th overall picks," Schefter wrote on his X account. "The Giants now hold the No. 5 and No. 10 picks in [head coach] John Harbaugh’s first draft with the organization. The last time they had two top-10 picks was in 2022, when they selected No. 5 and No. 7."
Schefter had previously reported that Lawrence, who signed a $90 million extension in 2023, had requested a trade after "attempting to negotiate a new contract reflecting his value to the Giants over the last three years, but there has not been any progress."
"Dexter Lawrence has two years remaining on his deal and is currently scheduled to make $20 million this upcoming season. Initially there had been optimism that with changes in the organization, discussions could move forward. But now that they haven’t, new Giants head coach John Harbaugh will open his team’s off-season program Tuesday without one of his best players," Schefter wrote.
Harbaugh had previously discussed Lawrence's importance to the Giants' success in February.
"How important is he? Really important," Harbaugh said via ESPN. "He's super, super important. He's a cornerstone football player -- not really a cornerstone, more like the middle stone. He's right in the middle. He's a very big stone, and he's a very active, athletic one."
Lawrence was selected by the Giants at No. 17 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. The former Clemson standout is a three-time Pro Bowler and a two-time second-team All-Pro, but is coming off a season in which he recorded career lows for tackles (31), sacks (0.5) and QB hits (8) in 2025.