The Dexter Lawrence II move that hit 97 on the Bengaldom-Richter scale Saturday night kept delivering the Dexquake aftershocks on Monday during the Bengals' first day of voluntary offseason workouts at Paycor Stadium.

There could be no better punctuation mark to the massive facelift that the front office has given the defense than to have the 6-4, 340-pound Lawrence looming in the weight room the first day back.

"It was crazy seeing a grown man stand next to other grown men and stand out," said safety Jordan Battle. "It was just fun to see his physique in person."

The Joe Burrows, Ja’Marr Chases and Tee Higgins of the world don't figure to show until closer to the voluntary field work in mid-May. But there were enough Bengals around to give the organization a thumbs-up for the defensive overhaul that not only netted the three-time Pro Bowler Lawrence, but other starters and regulars such as another D-Tackle with Pro Bowl skins, Jonathan Allen, as well as the best free-agent safety on the market Bryan Cook and Super Bowl pass rusher Boye Mafe.

"I'm looking down the lockers to see who's going to be on who. I think we're going to see a lot of five-man fronts," said center and captain Ted Karras. "We've got a big, scary D-line … Really excited for the team. That was a big ol' jolt.

"We have a very serious team. Everybody got better on defense Saturday night when we got him."

That tireless, droning, national drive-by narrative about the Bengals not being all in? Head coach Zac Taylor wrote the epitaph.

"Really, a credit to ownership and upstairs. This is not an easy thing. Forgo the 10th pick in the draft," Taylor said. "But for a player of this caliber, we're excited that we did. He's excited to be here. Everyone is excited to have him.

"A lot of credit to a lot of people upstairs for getting this done. As a coaching staff, we're really excited about it."

The epicenter of the Dexquake was the defensive line room of position coach Jerry Montgomery, also the Bengals' run game coordinator.

"The team got better. You can say the unit got better. We got better, but the team got better. There are some leadership skills that come with a guy like that," said Montgomery after his first meeting with Lawrence on Monday followed his first Bengals workout.

Montgomery, who has been coaching NFL defensive lines for a decade, never crossed paths with Lawrence. But it feels like he has because he has spent offseasons crafting cutups of the league's best to show his players. He's hit rewind on Lawrence more than a few times.

"He's a guy, you look at his size and what he's able to do athletically," Montgomery said. "You try to show that to guys and some can mimic that and some can't.

"He's big, but he plays big. There are a lot of guys that are big, but don't play big. He's big and he plays big. He crushes the pocket. He does a great job using his size to his advantage."

Montgomery got the news Saturday night during a family gathering celebrating his daughter's First Communion. When the news flashed on social media, he kept dealing as they hung out playing cards.

"Until Zac called, you assumed it was real," Montgomery said. "But when Zac called …."

Ted Time

The next biggest shock involved the world of Karras, who, for an agonizing stretch on Saturday as he drove to Cincinnati from his Fort Lauderdale home, thought he'd be playing Lawrence twice this year against Cleveland after hearing a rumor.

Then his dad called as he was driving through Georgia on I-75 to tell him Lawrence was going to the Bengals. So now Karras only has to worry about training camp.

"Camp is camp," Karras said. "You won't see anybody better than him. It will be nice that it's just on practice film, and not on the big sky on games."

The last time Karras banged heads with Lawrence was two years ago in the Bengals' win over the Giants. He knows better than most the problems he poses.

"This is a big trench division, and we got the best in the last 30 years," Karras said. "When that schedule comes out and you see Dexter Lawrence as a center, you're circling that from May onward. He's a big, scary player, and I think we have a very serious team. I'm excited for 2026.

"His contact strength is powerful. Hard to move. Hard to stop. Once he blocks you with power a few times, he'll mix in a good swim, good club. I think people underestimate how tall he is."

Ruby's Redux

If they're in town long enough, the Bengals usually fete their new free agents to a Jeff Ruby special with an assembly of vets at either The Precinct or at Ruby's downtown. They stayed downtown Sunday night to welcome Lawrence and literally drew a big crowd with the massive tackles Orlando Brown Jr., and Amarius Mims, as well as Lawrence's best friend on earth, defensive tackle and captain B.J. Hill. Battle also checked in. Along with Mims, he's flexing his leadership skills.

Battle had a good conversation starter with Lawrence since one of his buddies from home in Fort Lauderdale, Brian Burns, played with him on the Giants.

"Great guy," Battle said. "I picked his brain on how he's done it for so long and how he takes care of his body. Great addition. Fits right in. He'll help everybody. He'll be double-teamed, and other are guys are going to be left to win one-on-ones."

Battle and Lawrence each had the Australian Wagyu Ribeye Cap, which went for $128. No one knew who paid, but Battle said, "I had fun ordering."

Brown, a perennial captain on offense, knows what that can look like on a young defense searching for leaders.

"Great conversation," Brown said. "We want to win and guys understand that and he brings something we've been missing … To me, he has such a big aura about him and great energy. He's coming in with the mindset to be a leader and help us win. To me, that's huge. It makes all the difference."

Golden Days

The last time we saw Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden at the NFL Scouting Combine, he had a completely different group. Even before the Lawrence trade, last month the Bengals had revamped their defensive look with Cook, Mafe, Allen and a savvy, sure-tackling safety and former Patriots captain in Kyle Dugger, who can be used in various ways.

"Such a collaborative effort. So much work that went into it. Whether it's ownership, Duke (Tobin) and the front office, all the personnel staff, the coaches, everybody working together," Golden said Monday. "When you do have guys who are leaders or performed really well in the Super Bowl or are consistent over time, those are the kind of guys we want to work with. Our front office and ownership did an unbelievable job getting those guys in here. It's not over. We are going to keep working."

But Lawrence is, of course, top of mind.

"Look, we're a different team this morning than we were yesterday at 6 o'clock," Golden said. "With the addition of an inside guy of his caliber, you can do some other things. We aren't there yet as a staff, but certainly keep looking at that and seeing how we can use all those guys to put the most formidable group out there at one single time and maybe vs. a particular grouping."

Slants and Screens

At his introductory news conference, Lawrence flashed the charisma that is going to put a C on his chest.

**On what he prides the most of his ample skills: "**I take most pride in just burying the guy in front of me. The league wants to get pass-happy, but you can't lose that dominance in the middle of the field. You can't lose that attitude of choking somebody out and burying them."

On Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's career-long 47-yard touchdown runs vs. his Giants in 2024:

"That pissed me off. That's all I think about. That pissed me off. Now I'm on the same side as that, so it won't piss me off anymore.

On any misconception of his departure from New York:

"That there's a beef. There's no beef. It's all love. It's part of the business. As a player, it is what can you do to be better for your family and do better for your family. I think this is what it was. It's all love.

On why the fit in Cincinnati is so good:

"Playing next to Jonathan Allen and B.J. Hill and Slay (T.J. Slaton Jr.), that's going to be fun, and then you've got those guys on the other side of the ball who make plays all the time. It's just a different feel, and I respect Coach Zac a lot and what he's been accomplishing here, and I'm just happy to be here."

On being in a new weight room after seven seasons with the Giants:

"It was a little different. I was breathing a little heavy because just a lot of new names, new faces. You don't know what you're stepping in to, how these strength coaches do (things). I've been with the Giants, so it kind of was like I got comfortable a little bit, and so now, I'm warming up.

"The guys are very welcoming. On social media, a lot of them wanted me here, so that felt good. So, it's been a smooth process. I mean, at this point in my career, I've had a lot of success, and a lot of guys have seen that, so the respect is there. I've just got to keep earning it."

On how the Sexy Dexy dance get started:

In college, we used to dance a lot just before NIL, so we couldn't really showboat on the field or anything. So in practice we would dance, and that was one of the dances we would do. My rookie year we're playing the Patriots in a preseason game, and I was on the sideline dancing, and Saquon (Barkley) looked and said that should be your sack dance, right? That's kind of where I got the idea."

On how he got the nickname "Sexy Dexy:
"In middle school, seventh grade, my middle school coach, Coach Kline, just came up to me one day. He was like, he had the deepest voice. He was like, 'Sexy … Dexy.' It stuck somehow, some way, it just carried on to now."

On how important wearing No. 97 is to him:
"There have been questions. I want to get it. I know (Shemar) Stewart had it last year, has it right now, but I'm speaking to him, and see what he wants to do."