The Cowboys selected Ohio State safety Caleb Downs with the 11th overall pick. They picked UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence 23rd overall, a draft pick the team acquired from the Packers in the Micah Parsons trade.
Being the second first-round pick has made Lawrence something of an afterthought outside the building, which is a familiar feeling for him.
“I’m kind of used to being in the shadows,” Lawrence said, via Tommy Yarrish of the team website. “It doesn’t faze me. Once the time comes, people will see the work that you put in.
“Not being in the spotlight, if you get on Instagram, you probably won’t scroll and see my name, but you’ll probably see some other guys’ names. Once you kind of get to know who I was, it’s like I came out of the [shadows].”
Lawrence has big shoes to fill, as he will face comparisons to Parsons for his career.
He had 20 sacks in four seasons in Orlando, including seven last season. Parsons had only 6.5 in two seasons at Penn State and then made 13 as a rookie in 2021 with the Cowboys.
Lawrence spent the offseason eliminating a false step in his pass rush.
“I’ve seen great work just hitting it every day,” Lawrence said. “Just making it one of my key focuses, so I can use my explosiveness to my advantage when getting off the ball. Working with [pass-rush specialist] BT [Jordan] with that has been great.”
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