On Saturday, rumors began that the Cleveland Brownsare linked in a trade for the New York Giants’ star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
In a vacuum, adding a player of Lawrence’s caliber is always a great thing. He is one of the best football players in the entire NFL, and he is incredibly impactful when he is on the field.
However, trades and deals are not made in a vacuum. If Cleveland were to come to an agreement with the Giants for Lawrence, it would have to be at the right price. There is no world where I see the Giants asking for and accepting anything less than a first-round pick.
There is no world where Cleveland should offer one of its first-round picks for Lawrence. In the last 12 months, Cleveland has already used one premium asset on a defensive tackle in Mason Graham; they simply cannot afford to invest another one in that position.
What Lawrence could bring to the Browns in a theoretical trade
Lawrence appeared in all 17 games last season in New York and had only 14 total tackles and 0.5 sacks on the year. It was one of his lowest years of production in his entire career.
The conversation about the Browns improving their defense continues to be a very puzzling conversation. For the last three years, the Cleveland Browns have had a top-10 defense in the NFL. In those three seasons, they netted just one playoff game thanks to a miracle run by Joe Flacco.
Cleveland simply cannot continue to invest premium resources on the defensive side of the ball until they have an offense that is at least average. If Cleveland’s offense had been even a top 15 group in the league, there is a real possibility that they would have won the AFC North last year.
Instead, they were the 31st-ranked offense and only netted five wins.
Lawrence has been awesome in New York. From the defensive tackle position, he has registered 108 pressures since the 2022 season, which is more than 70 pressures than Vita Vea, who is in second place. More importantly, the difference between when he is on and off the field in New York is staggering.
pressures when aligned at nose tackle, since 2022:
108 – Dexter Lawrence
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42…— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 7, 2026
Dexter Lawrence 2025 only:
OFF field:
#32 YPA (8.4)
#31 sack rate (4.1%)
#27 EPA/pass (+0.13)
#26 pass success (47%)
#23 pressure rate (32%)ON field:
#7 pass success (40%)
#8 YPA (6.6)
#9 sack rate (7.7%)
#10 EPA/pass (+0.09)
#22 pressure rate (33%)https://t.co/Xbo2p6JtJe— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 6, 2026
He would no doubt make the Cleveland defense significantly better. If the price is right, Cleveland could make the deal. If it is too expensive, Cleveland would be considering a major, major mistake.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: BRowns linked to a puzzling trade for Dexter Lawrence
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