The Dallas Cowboys have plenty of new faces on defense entering the 2026 season and many of them will be looking to make an immediate impact. While many are expecting big things from 11th overall pick Caleb Downs, he may not be the only first-round pick to crack the starting lineup as 23rd overall pick Malachi Lawrence could also break onto the scene.
The UCF product had a knack for getting to the quarterback, collecting 19.5 sacks in his final three seasons with the Knights. But he could also benefit from the Cowboys’ current situation at edge rusher, which was questioned by ESPN’s Aaron Schatz.
“Edge rusher is a position that isn’t a hole, per se, but definitely has questions,” Schatz wrote in an article depicting each team’s biggest need after the NFL Draft. “Rashan Gary, acquired from Green Bay didn’t have a sack in the final 10 games of last season. Donovan Ezeiruaku is coming off hip surgery and has been limited in the offseason. Sam Williams had just one sack in 2025. James Houston had 5.5 sacks and couldn’t play against the run. Marist Liufau is moving to the edge but hasn’t played the position before. And [Lawrence] is a promising rookie, but he’s still a rookie.”
Cowboys Pass Rush Problems Could Give Malachi Lawrence Big Role
Lack of experience aside, Lawrence has to believe he’s in an advantageous position as he heads to Dallas. The Cowboys have made a lot of moves to address the edge rusher room this offseason but many of them feel like window dressing for problems that still exist.
Gary is a splashy name as a former Pro Bowler, but things soured in Green Bay due to his lack of effort. Things got so rough with the Packers in the final 10 games that fans referred to him as “0010” noting he didn’t have a sack or tackle for loss during that stretch.
While Ezeiruaku showed promise at times, he only finished with 40 total tackles and two sacks despite appearing in 17 games and starting nine of them. Houston also appears to be a pass-rushing specialist and Liufau has an uphill battle to make the roster after failing as an off-ball linebacker in Matt Eberflus’s scheme.
It’s not fair to expect Lawrence to save a pass rush that still has Micah Parsons’s ghost haunting them. But while he may not match his production, Lawrence could be the best bet to fill part of the void.
Lawrence’s pass-rushing grade improved each year at UFC with a career-high 89.5 grade according to Pro Football Focus. He also had a career-high 40 pressures and was serviceable against the run with 18 run stops on 222 pass-rushing snaps. While his 470 defensive snaps are a little low, there’s clearly something to work with considering he had the fastest 40-yard dash time among edge rushers at the NFL Scouting Combine.
There are some things that Lawrence must work on at the next level but the chips could fall in his favor. If Gary looks like the player he was in the second half of last season and Ezeiruaku doesn’t have a clean recovery, Lawrence could be thrown onto the field out of the gate and make a bigger impact than expected during his rookie season.
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