Former UCF Standout EDGE Malachi Lawrence Already Facing High Expectations

Following the end of the season, standout UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence was viewed as a second-third round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

But, following a very strong offseason, culminated by a historic combine run, Lawrence rose all the way to the first round, landing with the Dallas Cowboys as the No. 23 overall pick.

This honor made Lawrence just the fifth Knight to be taken in the first round, standing alone as the highest drafted player on the defensive side of the ball in program history.

With rookies beginning to get their first tastes of NFL football in the preseason, Bleacher Report released updated rankings for the players in this year's class.

Lawrence did fall a bit beneath his draft status, coming in as the No. 41 first year on the list.

"With the Cowboys trading for Rashan Gary during the offseason, Lawrence will have to beat out Donovan Ezeiruaku to have a starting spot in the defense's 3-4 packages... The UCF product might need a year or two before he's an every-down player," Bleacher Report's scouting department wrote. "He should be able to contribute as a pass-rusher, but the first-string role will likely come down to which of the two young edges is the better run defender."

Against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, Lawrence recorded three tackles, getting off the line quickly in run defense.

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 No. 15 overall pick and First-Team All American Rueben Bain Jr., who was viewed as one of the most-productive edge rushers in the class.

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."

The Cowboys focused a lot of time and resources into revamping their defense for the upcoming season, and Lawrence is at the forefront of those efforts.

He will have the opportunity to compete for a playoff spot right away.