On Thursday, we received our first dose of real football as the Hall of Fame game had a fantastic finish. What stood out was how impressive the rookies were during the contest. Carson Beck and Haynes King stole the show in their debuts for their teams. In just over a week, it’ll be Dallas’ turn to unveil their 2026 club against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks.
While yes, the position battles will take center stage as one of the main storylines, we all want to see our rookies, right? We hope Dallas had a great draft class so it’s only right that the fans are anxious to see if that is true. It’s very plausible that their first pick, Caleb Downs, doesn’t play in that first game; as for the other rookies, if available, they likely will play. Aside from Downs, Dallas’ other first-round pick is flashing in training camp as well, and it’s only right that we praise how his training camp has unfolded.
Malachia Lawrence is making strides
Lawrence is a hyper-athletic pass rush prospect. He’s got a long frame, with elite closing speed once he gets to the edge. He’s also a polished player for his experience with a very good move set to rush the passer.
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Although the pass rush has been somewhat quiet to begin training camp, Lawrence has started to put together quality reps. He has been a little overshadowed by his other rookies on the roster such as Caleb Downs and Jaishawn Barham, but that doesn’t mean he doesnt command some attention.
His head coach talked about his positive outlook on Lawrence before training camp:
“I’ve been most pleasantly surprised by the instincts when he drops in coverage,” Schottenheimer said of Lawrence. “They didn’t drop him much at UCF, for the right reasons.”
Despite not having much experience doing so, Lawrence actually has the ideal level of athleticism to be effective in coverage. The UCF product scored a near-perfect Relative Athletic Score, with Lawrence notching a 9.95 out of 10.
Schotty has been encouraged by Lawrence’s work overall during his first offseason in the NFL and is a believer in the rookie, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.
“But I like the way he’s tackled this offseason. I think he’s another guy that the talent is real. I don’t remember him making a lot of mistakes, and that’s a good thing,” Schottenheimer added.
Lawrence is starting to come on, and that shouldn’t really comes as a surprise. His traits are an ideal fit for the Cowboys defense as a stand-up edge rusher. Armed with his explosive first step, Lawrence has the potential to have a very good rookie season.
Yet, for now, we’ll settle for Lawrence doing something exciting in Dallas first preseason game. With the Cowboys having to exhibit more from the pass rush, look for Lawrence to see a fair chunk of snaps against Seattle.
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Lawrence, Downs, and Barham spearhead what could be a very productive draft class for the Cowboys, with Lawrence having gone under the radar thus far behind Barham and Downs.
Which other rookies are you most looking forward to seeing over the next few weeks and in the preseason?
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