ORLANDO — Malachi Lawrence became the first UCF player selected in the NFL draft's opening round since 2018.The Dallas Cowboys selected Lawrence, a 6-foot-4, 253-pound edge rusher, with the 23rd pick in the 2026 NFL draft, held Thursday, April 23, in Pittsburgh. He joins exclusive company as only the fifth Knight taken in Round 1, a group that includes Daunte Culpepper, Blake Bortles, Breshad Perriman and, most recently, Mike Hughes.Following UCF's pro day on March 25, Lawrence said it was a "blessing" to be considered among the draft's best available edge defenders. His pitch to the 17 teams he met with in the pre-draft process was, "I'm a great pass-rusher.
I have a great motor. I'm a captain."Those teams, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, were the Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans and New York Jets.Lawrence played all five of his college seasons for the Knights, emerging as a starter ahead of his redshirt junior season. The 6-foot-4, 253-pound Louisville native compiled 20 career sacks, good for 10th all-time in program history.He cracked the All-Big 12 first team in 2025, joining RJ Harvey, Javon Baker and Tre'Mon Morris-Brash as the only Knights to do so in their three seasons in the conference.
Lawrence recorded a career-high 11 tackles for loss, seven sacks — including back-to-back, multi-sack performances against West Virginia and Baylor — and an 89.9 pass-rush grade courtesy of Pro Football Focus.Lawrence's draft stock soared after his performance at the NFL scouting combine in February. He posted the second-fastest, 40-yard dash time (4.52 seconds) among participating edge rushers with a 1.59-second 10-yard split and a 40-inch vertical jump.Malachi Lawrence stats, accolades2025 season: 12 games (12 starts), 28 tackles (17 solo), 11 TFLs, 7 sacks, 3 pass breakups, 2 forced fumblesCareer: 39 games (22 starts), 72 tackles (47 solo), 28 TFLs, 20 sacks, 5 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recoveryAccolades: All-Big 12 first team (2025), All-Big 12 honorable mention (2023), Ranked 10th all-time in UCF history in sacksMalachi Lawrence NFL combine height, weight, 40 timeHeight: 6-foot-4Weight: 253 poundsArm length: 33⅝"Hand size: 9¼"Vertical jump: 40"Broad jump: 10'1"40-yard dash: 4.52 seconds10-yard split: 1.58 secondsWhat NFL draft experts, UCF coaches said about Malachi Lawrence"Personally, I'm proud of how much development and progress some of those guys (Lawrence and Nyjalik Kelly) made in our one year with them.
I didn't have a lot of confidence when I first got here — Malachi wasn't practicing — that he was going to be projected to go where he's going to go in the draft. He did an unbelievable job of working consistently and continuing to get better in a year with Mike Dawson and Alex Grinch. I'm really happy for him." — Scott Frost, UCF head coach"The edges in the NFL, whether you're three-down or four-down, there's going to be a lot of similarity, a lot of carry-over.
We didn't drop him (into coverage) a ton last year, but enough where I think he knows how to do that. If he ends up in a 3-4 system, he'll have an understanding of coverages and how they work. … I see a guy that has a large toolbox. He's not a one-trick pony.
You don't see just one pass-rush move that happens to win at the college level. He's got a bunch of stuff that he can do, and you can see it on tape as the season progressed. I think guys are going to be excited to have him in the room.
Great guy. Personality-wise, he wants to learn and he wants to know about football. I believe he wants to be a coach when he's done playing.
He's a sponge as far as getting the information and learning it." — Mike Dawson, UCF edge rushers coach"He's a wonderful person with a great personality, always smiling. He was just so coachable. You could tell early that he had a really, really good skill set.
He was determined to be the best version of himself. … He was a little undersized early, but you could see the possibility of development. The physicality of the game and just understanding, it just clicked for him. There’s nothing like experience, too.
Even though he didn’t start (until 2024), he had played quite a bit before. You could tell he had a chance to be a real player." — Gus Malzahn, former UCF head coach"The biggest thing was he worked his tail off in the weight room and got stronger. He was always this wiry, tall athlete.
Early on in his career, he was hindered in the weight room with multiple shoulder surgeries. In 2024, he was able to have a true offseason. Once he got in the weight room and you added that get-off, his length and him being a twitchy guy, he's what everybody in the country looks for in a pass-rusher. … With his skill set and what