The Cowboys have inked the second of their two first-round draft picks to a rookie contract.
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys have completed a key segment of their offseason business, as on Friday, they finished up getting their latest NFL Draft picks under contract.
Edge rusher Malachi Lawrence of UCF has officially joined the fold as he becomes the final member of the 2016 Cowboys draft class to agree to terms.
Lawrence will play under a slotted four-year, fully guaranteed $20.22 million deal with Dallas, which will also hold an option on a fifth season because Lawrence was a first-round pick.
As is the case with safety Caleb Downs - the Ohio State product who was Dallas’ first Round 1 selection - a great deal is expected of Lawrence … even though he’s just a rookie.
Downs will become an instant starter. With Lawrence, there will be more patience, as he figures to rotate in behind EDGE rushers Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku.
At the same time, the 6-4, 254-pound Lawrence is being projected by some as being talented enough to put up sack numbers in his initial season.
But first things first.
Lawrence, 22, is learning a new position in the Cowboys’ new "3-4 Hybrid" scheme under the guidance of another rookie in coordinator Christian Parker.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer says Lawrence has been "picking it up really, really quickly, and we're very excited about that."
"It's been fun just getting to learn a new defense, new scheme," Lawrence added. "Now I'm transitioning kind of to more of an outside linebacker position than defensive end that I was at UCF … So, just getting those, just learning techniques, really. It's been really technique-based …"
With Gary and Ezeiruaku also featured and a first-rounder providing depth, Schottenheimer's confidence is growing in the Cowboys' pass-rush department.
"I think some of the best pass-rushing teams that I know we face don't have necessarily one guy. It's easier to shut one guy down," Schottenheimer said. "One elite guy, you can pay a lot of attention. It's better of when you're looking at Denver, and obviously [Nick] Bonitto put up big numbers, but they were getting six-plus sacks I think from seven or eight different guys or something crazy like that.
"I really do think it's more of the unit. And that's what were' excited about with the depth that we feel that we have."
So now, as Dallas works through a series of OTAs here inside The Star, is the time for a learning curve to be endured.
"Just following the little things," Lawrence said of his approach. "So when coach is teaching a certain technique, just actually doing that technique, even if it's a walkthrough tempo, because just trying to perfect and refine those things that you need to work on to make you a better player."
And, the Cowboys hope, a player worthy of Lawrence’s status of a first-round pick now guaranteed $20 million.
