Bengals assistant general manager Trey Brown, one of the myriads of people on all sides of the NFL aisles who helped put Dexter Lawrence II in what he's already calling those "nice unis," met him Sunday in the locker room with a handshake and a scouting report just as robust.

"Love the tape. You've been dominant for a long time," Brown told him, and that's exactly what the Bengals have been looking for since last season ended.

The biggest Bengals' trade in 15 years (sending Carson Palmer to the Raiders) and their biggest first-round shakeup in 31 years (trading up to overall draft No. 1 to draft Penn State running back Ki-Jana Carter) wasn't all a lightning bolt.

Brown, along with his fellow point man in free agency, assistant general manager Steven Radicevic, also spent weeks sending out trade feelers for dominant defenders such as Lawrence. Even as they signed four new starters or regulars in free agency last month (and watched the Ravens almost deal for one of those prime defenders they were monitoring in Maxx Crosby), they kept going to the phones.

"We're always on the hunt for high-end talent. We've got a good group that works collectively on all this stuff," Brown says. "When the tape shows that, you know you've got to figure out a plan of attack to get a guy like that who elevates a defense for the long haul."

The Lawrence deal shows why the Bengals like the roundtable approach.

While director of player personnel Duke Tobin can keep guiding the draft prep, as well as counseling on trades, he knows that he's also got two veteran personnel execs who can speak fluently to other teams and agents. Plus, Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn and vice president Troy Blackburn have done every NFL deal imaginable as they attack the salary cap.

There were layers, a two-pronged process with Lawrence wanting a new deal. Lawrence knew something was up Saturday when agents Joel Segal and Geoff Garmhausen phoned to tell him the Giants had given the Bengals permission to talk to them.

"In order to do something like this, you need good communication with everyone," Radicevic says.

The talks had been described as simmering. The Giants were apparently trying to figure out how to handle the situation with the unhappy Lawrence. The Bengals, who along with the Giants are one of the NFL's last family-run teams, wanted to give New York their respect and a wide berth.

After talks slowed last week, the Giants called the Bengals Saturday morning and were prepared to make the deal for the 10^th pick. Cincinnati had no interest in giving up picks in future years, so the one-for-one fit.

"The opportunity to add a player of Dexter's ability was too good to pass up thanks to the commitment by Mr. (Mike) Brown, Katie Blackburn, Troy Blackburn, Paul Brown, and our player personnel staff," Tobin said in the Bengals' press release.

"Dexter fits the vision we have on our defense and will also elevate others around him. We are confident in Dexter and can't wait to see the positive effects he and the other players we have acquired this offseason have on our football team. We are excited to turn to the draft and our remaining picks to further enhance our team."

Saturday was a 13-hour day. Once Radicevic got the go-ahead from the Giants to talk to Lawrence's people, final numbers of the $70-million extension clicked into place about 6:30 p.m., and cars were driving out of Paycor Stadium at about 8 p.m.

It wasn't a kid's weekend. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was in a gym in Chicago watching his son play AAU basketball, "trying to keep a straight face." He apologized for having to leave before Sunday's games, but the morning flight allowed him to walk into Paycor as Lawrence was signing his deal.

Brown's daughter had a soccer game in Lexington, Ky., Sunday, but her dad was at Paycor with a smile on his face.

"A captain. A leader. A big, strong guy with the ability to line up at multiple interior positions," Radicevic says. "At the shade, the zero, the three technique. He can create pressure, take on double teams, free up other guys, split double teams. He's dynamic."

The Bengals may think it's strange to hear some call the trade one of those risky deals they never do. Yet, instead of now looking at a draft board in which one of the dominant defenders (purely a projection) may be gone at No. 10, the Bengals are now looking at anything but a projection and roll of the dice.

"You add him to a division like ours where you need impact interior players," Brown says, "and we feel like we acquired one of the best defensive tackles in football."