Malachi Lawrence is a highly regarded edge rusher who may be available to the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Indianapolis Colts need edge help, plain and simple.
They finished tied for 15th in the NFL last year with 39 sacks, and then watched three prominent contributors walk out the door this offseason in Kwity Paye, Samson Ebukam, and Tyquan Lewis. While the Colts have replaced Ebukam and Lewis, they've come up empty replacing Paye, who has been a starter for them for all five years of his career.
It appears Paye's replacement may need to come in the upcoming NFL Draft.
The Colts are doing their due diligence to find pass rushers that fit their roster, and they have another coming into the building this week in UCF's Malachi Lawrence.
"UCF edge Malachi Lawrence, a (Daniel Jeremiah) Top 50 prospect who ran a 4.52 40 at the Combine, is visiting the Colts, Seahawks and 49ers this week — three of 16 visits for him ahead of the NFL Draft," NFL Network's Mike Garafolo posted on X. "Significant work on Lawrence from clubs following his performance in Indy."
Lawrence (6'4", 253, 22 years old) blends good size and length (33-5/8" hands) with even better athleticism to create one intriguing pass rusher prospect.
He has experience both playing with his hand in the dirt and standing up, and he has explosive traits, a high motor, and good flexibility. Lawrence already has a stocked toolbelt of pass-rush moves that should translate quickly.
The primary issue with Lawrence is that his play strength is nothing exceptional, which locks him into blocks when offensive tackles have him in their grips, and it shows up against the run, as he isn't as stout as you'd expect for his frame.
In 39 career games (22 starts), Lawrence has 72 tackles (28.0 for loss), 20.0 sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovered, and five pass breakups.
The defensive ends currently on the Colts roster are Laiatu Latu, Arden Key, Jaylahn Tuimoloau, Micheal Clemons, Durell Nchami, and Viliami Fehoko Jr.
Latu, Key, and Nchami are all more natural weakside ends, and Tuimoloau, Clemons, and Fehoko are base/strongside ends. The strong side is where the void Paye leaves behind exists.
Tuimoloau was a second-round pick by the Colts last year, but played just 215 snaps on defense and was a healthy scratch in three games. Likewise, Clemons has always been a rotational player, and Fehoko has never played a snap in his three-year career.
The Colts need another starting defensive end opposite Latu.