The New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals took the NFL world by storm on Saturday night when news broke that the Giants would be trading star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II to Cincinnati in exchange for the 10th overall pick in the NFL Draft. And quick side note, what a haul for New York.
The news of a superstar like the 29-year-old getting dealt has ripple effects extending throughout the NFL, which means the Atlanta Falcons are affected. You'd think this seems pretty inconsequential for a franchise with no first-round pick, but they were never meeting the price to trade for him anyways.
Where the Falcons stand to gain from this is in the 2026 NFL Draft, which is inching closer. It's no secret they are looking for a nose tackle to help them stiffen up the run defense, especially since David Onyemata left in free agency, but hoping that a top DT prospect slips to 48 is wishful thinking.
The Dexter Lawrence trade could help a top DT prospect slip to Atlanta at 48
However, there's certainly a chance. Odds are Atlanta is enamored with one of Christen Miller, Lee Hunter, or Caleb Banks, but they don't have the ammunition to trade up, so all Ian Cunningham can afford to do is sit back and wait. If one of them is available, they're the pick. If not, he'll likely take calls.
Let's look at this logically. The Giants could draft a DT at pick 37 (they were involved on Miller and Hunter even before Sexy Dexy's trade request), but their roster has so many holes someone better call Shia LaBoeuf. They have so many needs that John Harbaugh could go many different directions.
If someone like Clemson's Peter Woods falls out of the first round, the Giants could be more enamored with him. Not only would drafting him have one Clemson Tiger replace another, he's a clear first-round talent who would probably offer more value on Day 2 than someone like Hunter or Miller.
As for the Bengals, they're an interesting case study. Their draft board will essentially list their biggest need as "defense". He will help out in that area, but he's also someone who will likely prevent them from double dipping at defensive tackle, especially given how much they're paying him through 2020.
The Bengals also signed Jonathan Allen and have B.J. Hill at DT, so it's not worth addressing at pick 41. But linebacker is. Cincinnati's LB tandem of Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. is not good enough, and luckily, the linebackers being floated in this area of the draft are some good players.
Odds are that Georgia linebacker CJ Allen will be off the board by this point, but if Texas Tech's Jacob Rodriguez is still available, he could be the pick, but there's wrinkles to this. They could keep Cincinnati's Jake Golday in the city, but Texas' Anthony Hill would be a fun fit in Al Golden's defense.
The Bengals clearly have options, and now that they're out of the market for guys like Banks and Miller, it helps the Falcons. All they can really do is sit back and wait anyways, but any news that'll help one of those holy trinity of defensive tackles make it to pick 48 is something that fans will accept.
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