{"id":84602,"date":"2020-04-09T16:30:49","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T20:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=84602"},"modified":"2025-09-16T20:49:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T00:49:16","slug":"rashard-lawrence-2020-nfl-draft-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2020\/04\/09\/rashard-lawrence-2020-nfl-draft-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"Rashard Lawrence 2020 NFL Draft Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Rashard Lawrence Overview<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Position: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Defensive line<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Height: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6\u20192\u201d<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Weight:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 308 lbs<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Arms:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 34 \u215b\u201d<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Hands:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 11\u201d<br \/>\n<\/span><b>School: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LSU<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>NFL Combine Performance Data<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>40 Yard Dash: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5.07 seconds<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Three Cone Drill: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">8.03 seconds<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Bench Press: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">22 reps<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Vertical Jump: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">N\/A<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Broad Jump: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">N\/A<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Rashard Lawrence 2020 NFL Draft Profile\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lawrence generated mountains of hype following his senior season at Louisiana\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.secsports.com\/article\/28262132\/2019-all-sec-football-team-announced\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">All-SEC<\/a> honors.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Strengths<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strong hands when engaging blockers which are capable of powerful first strikes\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Extremely tough and competitive with a high play motor\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Good fundamentals when maintaining inside leverage and is difficult to move off his mark<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strong upper body and hands which make it rare for runners to break through his grasp<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Utilizes his smaller frame with consistently low pad level to leverage blockers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thrives in small areas and excels at the point of attack\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Weaknesses<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Small frame for the position which can allow bigger blockers to keep him at a distance\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Very average overall athleticism\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lack of agility and quickness in first step prevents him from moving laterally to impact outside runs<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lack of athleticism and average pass rush counters likely limits him to early down plays at the next level\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does not have the size to align as a nose although his play style would fit that position\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>NFL Comparison: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/P\/PierMi00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Pierce<\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Teams With Need at Position: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/browns\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cleveland Browns<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/colts\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indianapolis Colts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/falcons\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Atlanta Falcons<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/jaguars\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/lions\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Detroit Lions<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/packers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Green Bay Packers<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/panthers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carolina Panthers<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/steelers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/texans\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Houston Texans<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/titans\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tennessee Titans<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Projection: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Late third to mid fourth round<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Bottom Line on Rashard Lawrence<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Main photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"uJp6frxFRcZA7iFfDECzhA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1215519254\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'uJp6frxFRcZA7iFfDECzhA',sig:'tuGGaANYB-WmNLthnh-NqZKbKtLAlOSKmPP75ce2R8I=',w:'594px',h:'446px',items:'1215519254',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rashard Lawrence Overview Position: Defensive line Height: 6\u20192\u201d Weight: 308 lbs Arms: 34 \u215b\u201d Hands: 11\u201d 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\u00a0 Lawrence generated mountains of hype following his [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3217,"featured_media":84634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647,54],"tags":[5273,61,56,6024,40,1900,6395],"class_list":["post-84602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","category-editorials","tag-2020-nfl-draft","tag-football","tag-indianapolis-colts","tag-new-england-patriots-draft","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-combine","tag-rashard-lawrence"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84602"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247108,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84602\/revisions\/247108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}