Cowboys Draft UCF's Malachi Lawrence

0:00On April 24, Dallas Cowboys just snag UCF defensive end Malachai Lawrence with the 23rd pick in the NFL draft, marking the first. First round nights since 2018, he's the fifth UCF player ever taken that early, joining legends like Dante Colpepper and Blake Bortles. Lawrence stuck with the nights all five college seasons, writing out conference shifts to the Big 12 and coaching changes. He barely saw the field early on, but exploded in 2023 with 7.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss as a reserve. Fans are buzzing because Lawrence brings that consistent edge rush the Cowboys desperately need. They tied for seven few as sacks last year at 35. His Louisville roots and starting role in 2024 led to first team all Big 12 honors in 2025 with 28 tackles, seven sacks and two forced fumbles. At the NFL Combine, the 6 foot 4, 253 pounder turned heads with a 4.5 240 yard dash, 40

1:02inch vertical and 10 foot 10 broadjump locking in his top spot. Dallas paired him with free agent Rashan Gary to fill the Michael Parsons gap. UCF's now three for three on early picks under Scott Frost, keeping their draft streak alive. Lawrence is primed to sack quarterbacks in the pros and, rep the nights proud, NFL news today, powered by AI bringing you what matters on game day. I'm Corey with the story.