Dexter Lawrence spent much of his New York Giants career on the NFL’s ever-controversial top 100 players list.
We’re nearly halfway through this year’s rankings, and Lawrence is nowhere to be found.
Not that the Giants should care, mind you. Lawrence is now with the Bengals following an April trade that helped bring All-American offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa to New York.
And although the NFL’s Top 100 isn’t to be taken as gospel, Lawrence’s looming omission speaks to a broader point.
NFL players are catching up to what Giants fans have learned about Dexter Lawrence
The NFL 100 and PFF grades are both extremely problematic, a reality the football world has seemingly accepted.
Take Lawrence, for example. Last season marked the least productive season of his career, and he looked a step slower in the trenches.
Yet, PFF felt he still ranked among the top 10 interior defensive linemen.
Pro Football Focus was the only outlet to be that high on Lawrence. The consensus, from fans and players alike, is that Lawrence had a subpar 2026 season.
Multiple things can be true. Any list that has Lamar Jackson as the No. 69 player leaguewide reeks of incompetence, particularly those who organize how the voting works.
Seeing as the players vote on the NFL Top 100, it’s especially telling that they didn’t force Lawrence onto the list based solely on his reputation.
Giants fans were rightfully done with Lawrence even before he officially requested a trade. Last year’s struggles and his clash with Carl Banks cost him much of the favor and trust he’d built over seven seasons.
We’re still quite a ways away from knowing whether the Giants “won” the Lawrence trade. At least for me, the Bengals’ team success will be a significant part of what determines the final answer.
Lawrence has been a great player throughout his career, often veering into the elite tier. And if he plays the way he did in 2024, he’ll almost certainly be on next year’s top 100.
And given how the national media treats the Giants, they’ll probably pick on them even if Big Blue finishes with a better record.
At least the pundits and bloggers can’t currently use Lawrence’s likely absence from the top 100 against the Giants — assuming that they want to remain credible.
