How many sacks will rookie pass rusher Malachi Lawrence collect in his first season in silver and blue?
Much of the offseason conversation about the Dallas Cowboys' rookie class circles former Ohio State safety Caleb Downs (and rightfully so). But let's not forget Dallas' first-round pass rusher Malachi Lawrence.
The UCF product was taken with the No. 23 pick in this year's draft and was the fourth true edge rusher taken after David Bailey (No. 2), Rueben Bain Jr. (15) and Akheem Mesidor (22).
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Despite that, Lawrence slots inside the top 10 of all draftees in Defensive Rookie of the Year odds. He currently sits eighth at +1600, three spots below Downs (5th favorite, +800).
That is due to Lawrence falling perfectly into the arms of a team needy in the pass-rush department. The Cowboys, under rising coordinator Christian Parker, are expected to take on a youth movement in hunting the quarterback.
The second-rounder from 2025, Donovan Ezeiruaku, can make a big leap after solid work as a rookie last year, but that production did not quite show up in the sacks category. Rashan Gary, 28, is the veteran of the group as he joins Dallas after an offseason trade with the Green Bay Packers.
Dallas' sack leader last year was veteran mid-season signing Jadeveon Clowney with 8.5. Young free-agency pick-up James Houston had 5.5, and now-traded defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa got 3.5.
Houston is the only member of that trio expected back this season, but even he will have to fight to retain his spot with fresh blood joining the team.
With the Cowboys' addition of Lawrence, ESPN believes the youngster is poised for a strong first year.
Lawrence is picked to collect the second-most sacks of the class in the publication's projections for stat leaders among rookies. The average of his predictions comes out to 5.7 sacks, one standing below Bailey's 7.6.
Bain is just under Lawrence's projection at 5.6 sacks, while Mesidor is predicted to record about 4.9.
So yes, Lawrence is predicted to pick up the second-most sacks of any Cowboy from last year's team, and more than any returner (worth noting, newcomer Gary had 7.5 sacks last year in Green Bay).
We'll take it.
You'd have to go back to Micah Parsons' stellar rookie year in Dallas in 2021 to find the most sacks for a rookie this decade, with 13.0. Last year, Falcons first-rounder James Pearce Jr. recorded 10.5 sacks to lead all rookies.
As a whole, sack totals for first-year pass rushers has gone down over the last handful of years. In 2024, rookies accounted for just 84.5 sacks. That number increased to 100.0 in 2025, but it's still well below the average amount of rookie sacks in a year in the 2020s overall (106.0).
However likely Lawrence's projection is, he's still considered to be one of the best rookie defensive ends when it comes to immediate production.
