The New York Giants made a blockbuster trade on Saturday night, sending three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals with the 10th pick.th Overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Lawrence had been growing frustrated with his contract situation for the past few seasons, as he was the 12th highest-paid defensive tackle in the league. It was also reported that he was disappointed that, over the past two seasons, he had seen former teammates Saquon Barkley, Leonard Williams and Julian Love win Super Bowls with other teams, while the Giants went 7–27.
That's why the 28-year-old defensive lineman requested a trade earlier this month. On Tuesday, general manager Joe Schoen said during his press conference that he had had a positive conversation with Lawrence's representatives and was hopeful things would work out. But a few hours later, news came that the two sides were at an impasse and Lawrence wanted out of New York.
Lawrence was having the worst season statistically of his seven-year career as he had career lows in tackles (31) and sacks (0.5). The expectation was that New York could get a late first-round or second-round pick for him. But when the Bengals offered the 10th overall pick in the draft, New York balked at the deal.
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Who will the Giants draft with pick 10?th Overall selection?
Losing Lawrence will hurt the defense, but the team is now in a good position with the fifth and tenth overall selections in this week's draft. The buzz around the league is that there are only 15-20 players in this draft class who have true first-round grades. So with two top-10 picks, Big Blue should undoubtedly have one of the winners of the draft.
It is well known that there are three players who rank very high on the Giants' board, and they are Notre Dame running back Jeremiah Love, Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles and his teammate safety Caleb Downs.
There's a good chance all three could be on the board when New York is on the clock with the fifth pick, and there's a possibility Downs could still be on the board at 10. This would give the team the possibility of taking either Love or Styles with their first pick, and then the possibility of taking Downs five picks later.
If Downs is no longer on the board, the team could look to a corner like Tennessee's Jermod McCoy to replace Cor'Dale Flote who signed with the Tennessee Titans. Or they could look at Arizona State wide receiver Jordan Tyson.
The team added free agent receivers Darnell Mooney and Kelvin Austin III this offseason, but they were signed to one-year deals, while the 6'2 203-pound Tyson could be a mainstay for years to come. Durability has been an issue for the Arizona State receiver as he has missed time dealing with hamstring, knee and collarbone injuries. But when healthy, he is an explosive playmaker and that would be a huge compliment to Malik Nabors.
We'll find out in a few days which player the team will get in exchange for trading Lawrence, but you have to rest assured the team will be holding on to its first two draft picks on Thursday night.
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