Rashard Lawrence Overview
Position: Defensive line
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 308 lbs
Arms: 34 ⅛”
Hands: 11”
School: LSU
NFL Combine Performance Data
40 Yard Dash: 5.07 seconds
Three Cone Drill: 8.03 seconds
Bench Press: 22 reps
Vertical Jump: N/A
Broad Jump: N/A
Rashard Lawrence 2020 NFL Draft Profile
Lawrence generated mountains of hype following his senior season at Louisiana’s Neville High School in which he totaled 91 tackles and eight sacks. A five-star recruitment rating along with being ranked as the second-best prospect in Louisiana, Lawrence earned a roster spot in the 2016 Under Armour All-American game. Lawrence received several offers from high profile schools such as Oregon, Oklahoma, Georgia, Auburn, and Ohio State before choosing to play for LSU.
Lawrence played all four years for the Tigers and became a consistent starter during his 2017 sophomore campaign in which he started 10 games and finished the season with 32 tackles along with 1.5 sacks. Additionally, Lawrence was named a permanent team captain in conjunction with earning a selection on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. Lawrence built upon his performance and as a 2018 junior, he started all 13 games and totaled 54 tackles, four sacks, and again earned a spot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. As a senior in 2019, Lawrence had become a well established veteran leader for the Tigers and finished his college football career with a National Championship victory as well as earning Second Team All-SEC honors.
Strengths
- Strong hands when engaging blockers which are capable of powerful first strikes
- Extremely tough and competitive with a high play motor
- Good fundamentals when maintaining inside leverage and is difficult to move off his mark
- Strong upper body and hands which make it rare for runners to break through his grasp
- Utilizes his smaller frame with consistently low pad level to leverage blockers
- Thrives in small areas and excels at the point of attack
Weaknesses
- Small frame for the position which can allow bigger blockers to keep him at a distance
- Very average overall athleticism
- Lack of agility and quickness in first step prevents him from moving laterally to impact outside runs
- Lack of athleticism and average pass rush counters likely limits him to early down plays at the next level
- Does not have the size to align as a nose although his play style would fit that position
NFL Comparison: Michael Pierce
Teams With Need at Position: Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans
Projection: Late third to mid fourth round
Bottom Line on Rashard Lawrence
Lawrence has the play style of an old school run-stuffing nose tackle, but has almost none of the size. Moreover, with athletic limitations already, adding weight to his frame would likely do much more harm than good for the LSU prospect. With that said though, Lawrence’s skill set is very apparent as he brings leadership intangibles and a high motor while excelling at maintaining leverage along with mauling blockers at the point of attack. Lawrence will need time to develop counter pass rush techniques as he improves upon his footwork and hand timing in order to maximize his average athleticism. However, as a rookie Lawrence is very capable of playing on early downs and maintaining a solid anchor within the interior of a defense. While he will need to be subbed out on passing downs, the team who drafts Lawrence should be fine with that as his skillset is very clear.
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