Dexter Lawrence making instant impact at Bengals camp: 'Honestly, he's been terrorizing practice'
CINCINNATI — Nineteen minutes before practice began Monday morning, Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden was discussing his prized defensive tackle acquisition.
Then Golden looked up.
A 6-foot-5, 350-pound man was strolling out to practice.
"Did you see the blackout?" Golden joked, amid an interview with Yahoo Sports. "What's up, big man? So that was an eclipse right there."
Lawrence had caught his coordinator's eye — for neither the first time nor the last.
The Bengals acquired Lawrence from the New York Giants on April 19, sending New York the 10th overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft as compensation. Lawrence received an additional year of his deal, worth $28 million, to secure him up through the 2028 NFL season. He and Golden celebrated that day at the Cincinnati-based Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse.
And then? Lawrence got to work learning his new terminology and verbiage after six years playing for the Giants (albeit in different systems). As the Bengals staged their first padded practice of training camp Monday, Lawrence's impact was loud and immediate.
"Honestly, he's been terrorizing practice," wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase told Yahoo Sports. "I can honestly say that."
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A maligned Bengals defense loaded up on offseason upgrades to the tune of a practice group that offensive players say is more intense and competitive than Cincinnati's defense flashed last training camp. The club's offense has carried the team's weight for years. And while the offense still has high hopes, offensive coaches and players left practice frustrated Monday after a series of pass breakups and eager defensive plays slowed their progress.
That frustration is why the Bengals acquired Lawrence, albeit with the hopes that he'll trigger it in opponents from September through February.
Members of the Bengals offense who faced Lawrence in past games know what they now have in their arsenal. Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher's first thought is "nightmare." Lawrence slid to the play slide when the Bengals faced him previously and, like his fellow elite defensive tackles, eliminated escape lanes in a way edge rushers can't quite.
"When you have a man as big as [Lawrence], the quick twitch and the speed they're able to play with just disarms you," Pitcher told Yahoo Sports. "I don't know what you do to counteract that other than you just really focus on the technique of this interior line and you got to be really cognizant of what types of schemes you're trying to run and how often that guy's truly one-on-one.
"Running sideways and backwards at quarterback in the NFL is a good way to not play very long. So it's a problem."
On Day 1 in pads, Lawrence already knocking linemen to ground
Left guard Dalton Risner had faced Lawrence while playing for the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings. So he knew from experience that game-planning against Lawrence meant changing season-long blocking schemes to account for the 17th overall selection of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Still, Risner received a reminder Monday.
The Bengals were working on heavy personnel packages in team drills, with tight ends supplementing the offensive line and size getting the nod over speed along the defensive front. Risner saw another Bengals offseason acquisition, defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, rushing wide between the left tackle and guard spots. Risner turned to take on Allen, at which point Lawrence hit him from the other side, sending Risner to the ground.
"Sometimes you got to assert yourself and let guys know who you are," Lawrence told Yahoo Sports after practice, smiling sheepishly from his locker. "It ain't going to stop."
Risner took solace in recounting that a few plays later, Allen and Lawrence ran the same stunt again.
"And we picked it up," Risner said. "So it's a good example of you got me and I got you. I'm never going to get Dexter by putting him in the ground, don't get me wrong. Getting each other looks a little different."
The Bengals hope their defense with Lawrence will look a little different, too.
In six seasons with New York, Lawrence amassed 30.5 sacks, 341 tackles, 103 quarterback hits and five forced fumbles. He broke up 15 passes and last year secured his first interception. In all, Lawrence started 102 games in New York.
Capturing defensive tackle production with traditional data is complicated. But Lawrence's pass-rushing production dropped last year from a career-best nine sacks in 2024 to a career-low half a sack in 17 games in 2025. Lawrence's pass-rush win rate, per ESPN, registered 19th-best in the league (8%), per ESPN's advanced metric, while his run-stop win rate did not rank in the league's top 10.
Of note: Lawrence faced more double teams (71%) than 18 of the 19 interior defensive linemen who won their pass rushers within 2.5 seconds more often than he did.
Interesting to note on Giants DL Dexter Lawrence's production last season: While 18 players beat their block within 2.5 seconds more often than Dexter did, per ESPN Analytics, only 1 of those 18 (Braden Fiske, 73%) faced double teams more frequently than Dexter's 71% clip. pic.twitter.com/BMvJBlEn9L
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) April 7, 2026
After a rocky Giants season last year, including the midseason firing of head coach Brian Daboll, Lawrence sought a change. Some in the league were surprised the Giants let Lawrence leave, noting that new head coach John Harbaugh often invested in big defensive tackles during his time as Baltimore Ravens head coach.
But the Bengals were happy to take advantage. They added Lawrence to an offseason bundle that included Allen, former Seattle Seahawks hybrid rusher-linebacker Boye Mafe and former Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook.
They're betting Lawrence elevates the whole group. On the first day of pads, that was what they saw.
Bengals changing playbook to accentuate Lawrence
With pads anew, defensive backs flew around and Lawrence showed how he could penetrate or counter, push or pull. Bengals offensive linemen touted how they'll be better prepared for Week 1 thanks to Lawrence.
"There's certain guys in this league like Dexter who wreck a whole game play and you have to do everything around them and you change everything you're doing," Risner said. "You're going to have to change how you block against certain guys.
"He's just making us do it really early and really often."
The Bengals' defense will shift to Lawrence's strengths, too. Golden was watching film from previous practices on Sunday when he noticed one of Lawrence's strengths he wasn't yet highlighting.
"I changed a couple things this morning even just to utilize the strengths of some of our guys," Golden said Monday. "A design for Dexter and a simple change, but one that's not in the playbook.
"We're not static at all."
Neither is that solar eclipse that walked past Golden before practice began, the blackout with striking resemblance to the game-wrecker Golden saw on early practice film.
The Bengals are eager to send that shade toward Baker Mayfield in Week 1, C.J. Stroud Week 2 and so on. They're hopeful even that quarterback Joe Burrow won't try to play hero ball as often if and when Cincinnati's defense can contribute more to the final product.
Interior linemen may need to watch out then. Tackles and tight ends, too, if practice trends continue.
Lawrence will be watching their tendencies and applying all he's learning from practicing against quarterback Joe Burrow.
Monday, Lawrence marveled at how Burrow responded to his movement.
"You're actually seeing him going through his progression," Lawrence said of Burrow. "Today I'm on a rush, I know I'm supposed to balance up. He steps up the other side and dots the ball down the middle. I'm like, 'OK, that's on me.' But it's little things like that help you feel better going against the quarterbacks like him."
