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‘Nobody respects you anymore’ - Giants legend delivers harsh truth star DT Dexter Lawrence needs to hear

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Joe DeLeone | Last updated Oct 27, 2025 6:31 PM ET

The New York Giants' run defense has been abysmal this season, and it was accentuated by the 276 rushing yards they allowed to the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday.

The inability to stop the run has entirely held back what should be a talented defensive unit. One player who is supposed to be the best of the bunch is nose tackle Dexter Lawrence. Giants legend and radio analyst Carl Banks shared the harsh reality for Lawrence on his recent episode of Bleav in Giants.

“Dexter Lawrence, nobody respects you anymore. Nobody.”

Carl Banks grills Dexter Lawrence

Lawrence has been recognized as arguably the best nose tackle in the NFL. However, this season, Lawrence hasn't lived up to that usual hype. He's only registered 20 tackles, 1 TFL, and 0.5 sacks. It's nowhere near the normal level of domination we've seen that has elevated his teammates around him.

The lack of residual impact has shown up countless times this season. Right now, the defense is 30th in rush yards allowed per game, last in yards per carry allowed, and last in EPA/rush allowed.

Banks dug deeper into what is going wrong with Lawrence.

“The pre-injury Dexter is not there in their heads," Banks stated, "They don't respect you. And there's a difference. You're on the field. They're blocking you with a nine-year backup center. You're not making a difference. The old Dexter would."

What I said @BleavNetwork pic.twitter.com/XJU6wr5rRN
— Carl Banks (@CarlBanksGIII) October 27, 2025

While providing his assessment of Lawrence, Banks noted that his poor performance could be a lingering effect of his elbow injury, which ended his 2024 season early.

"There are a lot of things that go into your performance," said Banks, "Only you know what that is. Whether you're still recovering or not, I'm just telling you now, I'm looking at enough tape to know that your opponents don't respect you. Not like they used to.

Banks went on to add that it's stark that younger, less experienced role players are rotating into games and outperforming Lawrence.

"And here's the thing. When Darius Alexander gets in the game, when Roy Robinson gets in the game, and they substitute for you, those guys are making plays against the same guys that are blocking you.

He then closed out his statements on Lawrence by directly speaking to him, telling him he needs to expect more from himself.

"I don't know the circumstances. It's time for you to start expecting more of yourself. I don't know if you're injured. I don't know if you've fully recovered, but it's time to start asking more of yourself because they don't respect you. Your opponents don't respect you."

When there are big-name stars on teams, it's easy to give them the benefit of the doubt when they're underperforming. It may even be considered to be controversial to accuse a star of not giving their best effort. But Banks, being a former Super Bowl champion, is the right person to call out Lawrence. Hopefully, this sparks improvement from Lawrence, because he needs to be more impactful in the second half of the season.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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