Dexter Lawrence has 'already elevated' Bengals' defense
Yahoo Sports Daily hosts Caroline Fenton and Justin Walters are joined by senior NFL reporter Jori Epstein to break down Dexter Lawrence's dominance during Cincinnati Bengals training camp and discuss how a competent defense could keep Joe Burrow healthier this season. Watch the full episode of Yahoo Sports Daily on YouTube or YahooSports.TV .
Video Transcript
I believe this is my fourth training camp going through Cincinnati, and to me it was always beforehand, the offense looked great and you were having questions about the defense.
The defense looked better than the offense when I was there, and that was not just my perspective.
I talked to offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher and receiver Ja'Marr Chase after practice, and both of them were a little bit irked because the defense got the better of them.
I mean, you saw Dexter Lawrence really kind of, in Ja'Marr Chase's words, terrorizing practice and showing the offensive line who's boss.
I talked to left guard Dalton Risner who he had knocked over, and Dexter's like, "Sometimes you gotta assert yourself and it ain't gonna stop."
And then you get to the DBs and Ja'Marr's like, "These DBs are playing more confidently because of the pressure that Dexter is creating on the defensive line."
And so I think that they don't need this to be a top five, top 10 defense.
They need it to be a good enough defense that ideally you don't have to score 40 points every game.
And why I think it's so interesting is no one's questioning the talent on Cincinnati's offense.
We've known for a long time Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, I mean, we can go on and on.
They're gonna have it ready.
But what I think is interesting is a big question since he's always Joe Burrow, can he stay healthy?
Well, if we're being honest with ourselves, one reason he's had trouble staying healthy is because he's felt like he has to carry the team on his shoulders and play hero ball in like week two, second quarter rather than in the Super Bowl, and then he gets hurt.
Well, what if the defense is only allowing 20 to 30 points a game instead of 40 points a game?
Then maybe Joe Burrow stays healthier.
You've also written about Dexter Lawrence and you just spoke recently about the change that he's making.
Is it realistic to think that this one person can have a domino effect on the defense and that that points per game that they allow will sh- let's shed it closer to like 25, 30?
Yeah.
I think to me the biggest question is, well, it's Dexter Lawrence, but they also got Jonathan Allen on their interior defensive line this off-season.
They also brought in Boye Mafe.
They got Bryan Cook at safety, and so they've actually loaded up a few pieces.
Dexter Lawrence is like the shining prize of it all, and that's why they gave the 10th overall pick of the 2026 NFL draft for him, but I do think that he can elevate that defense.
He has already elevated the defense.
Defensive coordinator Al Golden told me that he's already been changing the playbook and integrating things that play to Dexter's strength, and then when you look at the offense, he's making the offense better, too
