The Cowboys moved up one slot in the batting order Thursday night and hit a home run with their first trip to the plate, landing one of their top targets of the entire pre-draft cycle in Ohio State safety Caleb Downs.
They aced their second at-bat, too, banging out an extra-base hit in a trade with a division rival, picking up additional selections, and still landing one of their top prospects.
With the 23rd overall selection, the Cowboys drafted Central Florida edge rusher Malachi Lawrence.
For letting the Eagles move up to No. 20 to get wide receiver Makai Lemon (who was not a legitimate Cowboys target anyway), Dallas slid back just three spots in the first and picked up two new fourth-round picks. (The Cowboys also gave up Pick No. 218.)
In Lawrence, the Cowboys are getting a ridiculous athlete who earned a Relative Athletic Score of 9.94 (out of 10), finishing above the 97th percentile in explosiveness grades and in the 99th percentile in edge rusher speed.
Coincidentally, the 20th overall pick that the Cowboys parlayed into Lawrence here was the one they got from Green Bay in the Micah Parsons trade. Now Lawrence will look to fill the gap that remains a year after Parsons’s departure.
Here’s what the experts had to say about Lawrence ahead of his selection.
Dane Brugler, The Athletic
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Lawrence is a linear mover and lacks ideal bend, but he offers skill as a pass rusher, stack-shed toughness versus the run and the demeanor that will help him carve out a starting role at the next level. Despite being an older player, he still has upside.
Much of Lawrence’s success in college came from his play urgency and weaponized length. He is twitchy off the ball and uses his long arms and well-timed hands to help pry open corners or create interior rush lanes. However, there are times when he gets stuck at the top of his rush, especially when engulfed by size. Against the run, he uses his length to press blockers off his frame and stay available to chase.
NFL Draft Buzz
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Lawrence’s NFL value starts and ends with his ability to rush the passer. The combination of top-end speed off the edge, a developed set of rush moves, and natural bend gives him a real path to winning in sub-packages at the next level. His pass rush production improved each year in college, and his best work came against Big 12 competition in 2025 when he consistently collapsed pockets with speed and hand technique. Defensive coordinators who run odd fronts or heavy sub-package looks will find a role for someone with his get-off and closing ability on obvious passing downs.The question is whether he can grow beyond that situational role. Right now, his run defense and tackling are not where they need to be for a three-down player. He gives up ground against the run, and his frame is on the lean side for an every-snap edge defender. The missed tackles add up. A team that asks him to set the edge in base defense is going to be frustrated early on.His year-one ceiling is a nickel and dime package rusher who can line up as a wide nine or reduce inside on third-and-long to create favorable one-on-ones against guards. If he adds ten pounds of functional weight without sacrificing his bend, there is a realistic path to 25-plus snaps per game by year two and an eventual role as a strong-side end in a four-down front. The athletic baseline is there for a six-to-eight sack ceiling once the body catches up to the toolkit.
Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
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An NFL-caliber edge rusher with prototypical size and length, Lawrence moves with the suddenness of a smaller player. Explosive get-off and a deep bag of moves/counters fuel his pocket disruption. He can win inside or outside but his speed-to-power conversion is average. His hands are subtle but skilled to quickly unlock openings and his secondary rush. He closes with burst and has the motor to hound scrambling quarterbacks. The next level will bring better tackles and more quick-sets, which will test how well his production translates. He makes splash plays behind the line but must provide better consistency and discipline in run support. Lawrence is an ascending prospect with rush polish and pro traits that should be enticing for pressure-hungry defenses.
Todd McShay, The Ringer
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Lawrence is an ascending edge with a great motor and the natural ability to keep improving. He’s quick with active hands and can get to the quarterback in different ways. He can transition to power when he doesn’t win with his first move, and he closes well.
He overpowers tight ends. When he gets vertical and quarterbacks roll to his side of the field, he makes it tough for them to get outside of him. he’s shown flashes as an interior pass rusher, he rarely stays blocked, and he plays with outstanding effort.
Lawrence fits best at outside linebacker in a base three-man front, and he may start his career as a situational pass rusher. There are shades of Khalil Mack when you look at Lawrence’s frame, combine workout, and playing style, but Lawrence needs to get stronger against the run and improve his consistency as a finisher for that comp to make sense at any point in his career.
Pro Football Network
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Malachi Lawrence is one of the more intriguing mid-round EDGE prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft class. Lawrence joined the UCF Knights in 2021 and redshirted his first season. He’d emerge as a redshirt sophomore in 2023, with 7.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss in that breakout season.
He remained productive in 2024, and had a career year in 2025, earning seven sacks, a career-high 11 TFLs, a strong PFSN EDGE Impact grade of 78.3, and a true dropback pressure rate of 13.2% that was nearly top-ten in the nation, per TruMedia. At 6’4″, 247 pounds, with 33 1/2″ arms, Lawrence has decent size and stellar functional athleticism. He’s reasonably explosive and agile off the snap, with the lateral quickness to off-set and stack counters, and the power channel to drive through blockers when properly aligned.
His pass-rush arsenal is particularly deep; he can levy bull-rushes, long-arms, and push-pulls, or stack chop-rips and swipes in rapid succession. Lawrence’s physical profile isn’t quite elite, and his run defense can be more consistent, but with added mass, he has the upside of a quality NFL starter, and is an immediate rotational boon, primarily as a two-point stance player in odd and hybrid-front schemes.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Instant Analysis: What the experts say about new Cowboys DE Malachi Lawrence
Reporting by Todd Brock, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
