UCF's Malachi Lawrence ignites NFL Draft buzz with combine dominance, soaring into top-50 projections as a difference-making pass rusher.
UCF defensive end Malachi Lawrence has seen a huge rise in draft stock during the pre-draft process, posting an impressive day at the NFL Draft Combine and shooting up mock draft projections.
Monday morning, ESPN's Matt Miller gave an updated, seven-round mock draft, which saw the Detroit Lions drafting Lawrence as the No. 50 overall selection in the second round, crediting his ability to be a difference maker right away.
"We've been begging for the Lions to pick an edge rusher to play opposite Aidan Hutchinson," Miller wrote. "Lawrence is a speedy, upside rusher with 4.52 speed and a 253-pound frame. He can easily slot in for departed free agent Al-Quadin Muhammad and be a Week 1 starter."
Lawrence is coming off of a First-Team All Big 12 senior season, where he posted seven sacks and two forced fumbles. Lawrence had the fifth-highest pressure rate (pressures per pass-rush snap) among all FBS edge defenders, according to PFSN, pressuring opposing quarterbacks on 22.7% of his pass-rushes. This was the same percentage as potential No. 1 pick and First-Team All American Rueben Bain Jr.
Roundtable's Demetrius Montero recently reported that ESPN's Todd McShay also projects Lawrence as a second-rounder, but believes he could sneak into the first round.
"He's an advanced pass rusher," McShay said. "He's got length. I watch Lawrence, and I say to myself, "Why not the first round?" I mean, truly, and I've got him projected going in the middle of the second round in this latest mock draft, Mock 3.0. And he's a guy who's just ascending."
Lawrence's ascent began after his incredible performance at the combine, where he recorded top-two metrics in nearly every drill.
Lawrence posted historic numbers, finishing second among all defensive lineman in 40-yard dash (4.52), broad jump (10'10"), vertical jump (40"), and 10-yard split (1.59). His blazing 40-time came in just behind projected top-five pick David Bailey, who ran a 4.5 flat.
Lawrence's performance ranked him within the top 1% of Relative Athletic Scores (RAS) in the past 40 years, scoring an unofficial 9.9 out of a possible 10. Of the 2,046 defensive ends who have participated in the combine since 1987, Lawrence ranked No. 22, posting an "elite" grade in both "composite explosion grade" and "composite speed grade."
NFL Draft Files on X wrote that Lawrence experienced a huge rise in draft stock following his explosive performance, naming him one of the biggest winners of the day.
According to the NFL Draft Files, Lawrence was "seen as a fringe top-100 guy before today but the league might have to now agree with me that he's a top 50 player after today's [combine] performance. Nearly a flawless Combine, top-to-bottom."
As the NFL Draft approaches, Lawrence continues to gain traction as an early selection on draft day.
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