Drafting Malachi Lawrence Completely Reshapes Dallas Cowboys at EDGE

The Dallas Cowboys made two massively important additions on the defensive side of the ball in Round 1 with the selections of safety Caleb Downs and edge rusher Malachi Lawrence.

Both players are going to help reshape their respective position groups and should make the immediate impact the Cowboys desperately need.

As a result of Downs, Lawrence and the rest of the team's picks on defense, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones believes the team has taken a big step in the right direction.

"We've changed this defense," Jones stated. "What you're seeing going on right now is a product of three or four or five years or maybe more that we just haven't been able to ultimately get where we're trying to go and be a contender. It's going to be different, it's going to be fresh; we've got a lot of great energy here."

When it comes to Lawrence, he opens up a slew of possibilities for the Cowboys and that's exactly what defensive coordinator Christian Parker wants.

How Lawrence reshapes Cowboys' EDGE group

UCF defensive lineman Malachi Lawrence (DL48) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. — UCF defensive lineman Malachi Lawrence. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

For starters, the Cowboys get a huge boost in the depth department from Lawrence.

Having the UCF product together with Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiraku fortifies what was a shaky group beforehand. We saw Gary struggle down the stretch of last season and while he is promising, the jury is still ultimately out on Ezeiraku.

The 2025 second-round pick is also recovering from hip labrum surgery during the offseason. He should be 100% by the time training camp rolls around, but it's still good Dallas has an insurance policy in Lawrence just in case.

Having Lawrence also lessens the need to rely on the Marist Liufau experiment with Dallas planning on moving him to edge rusher this season.

Another good thing about Lawrence is his versatility. The former Knights star can rush off the edge and slide inside when needed.

This allows the Cowboys to get another plus pass-rusher on the field in obvious passing situations and they won't always have to rotate the first-round rookie and Ezeiraku.

Bringing the heat with Gary, Ezeiraku, Lawrence, Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark on passing downs is going to be a problem for opposing offenses.

On top of tallying the seventh-fewest sacks in the NFL in 2025, the Cowboys also struggled with takeaways to the tune of the third-fewest in the league.

Lawrence should offer some help in that area, also, as he forced three fumbles and recovered one over the past two years.

"What we love about him is he doesn't just get the quarterback. He gets the ball," head coach Brian Schottenheimer said of Lawrence. "And that's a big emphasis for us this year — getting back right in the giveaway and takeaway market."

There's no doubt that are primed to change on defense for the Cowboys in 2026, and Lawrence will play a huge role in that.

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