#51

Malachi Lawrence

Former edge rusher at UCF. 2025: 7 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 28 tackles.

EDGE · UCF · Sr. · #51

6′4″ · 250 lb · Louisville, KY

CFB Index 75 · #68 of 420 edge rushersMedium confidenceAll-Conf 1st teamDrafted by Dallas — Rd 1, Pick 23, #23 overall

How he plays

Turns pressure into sacks — when he gets there, he finishes.

Sacks: 98th percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

sacks · 2025

11 TFL · 28 tackles · 3 hurries

Best game: 2 sacks, 3 TFL, 7 tackles, at Baylor

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Former edge rusher at UCF. 2025: 7 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 28 tackles.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to UCF in 2021.
Drafted round 1 by the Dallas in 2026.

The full story, with sources

How it ended

Four seasons at UCF, 18 sacks, a first-team All-Conference season (2025) — drafted at #23 overall by Dallas.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

2021

Signed with UCF3-star out of Dupont Manual

202511 games

All-Big 12first

2026

Drafted by Dallasround 1, pick 23

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#1157 national

CFB

College

UCF

2022–2025

NFL

NFL Draft

R1 · #23

Dallas · 2026

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

1 honor

🥈

ALL-BIG 12 · 1ST TEAM

All-Big 12 1st team (2025)

Coaching lineage · 2022–2025

2 coaches

2022–2024

Gus Malzahn

UCF

2025

Scott Frost

UCF

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Gus Malzahn → Scott Frost. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

Dallas2026 NFL rookie season

#23Rd 1 · Pick 23

Dallas2026 NFL rookie season

View college career stats ↓

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2022UCF9-5HC: Gus Malzahn · Run-leaning, fast tempo

2023UCF6-7HC: Gus Malzahn · Run-leaning

2024UCF4-8HC: Gus Malzahn · Run-heavy

2025UCF5-7HC: Scott Frost · Balanced

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

75All-Conference level #68 of 420?

Medium confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: sacks (98th percentile). Strength: tackles for loss (97th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Sacks#39 / 2975 · 98th pct

7.0

Tackles for loss#74 / 2975 · 97th pct

11.0

QB hurries#457 / 2975 · 82nd pct

Passes defended#777 / 2975 · 67th pct

Solo tackles#1178 / 2975 · 59th pct

Tackles#1469 / 2975 · 49th pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	2.0	0.6	0.6	0.3
Road4g	3.5	1.6	0.8	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	1.7	0.7	0.3	0.3
Weeks 8+5g	3.6	1.4	1.0	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Scott Frost

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

All-Conference 1st team

First team in his league at the position.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

75 · #68 of 420 edge rushers

Three-star recruit. Now #68 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	UCF	28	18	11.0	7.0	2	--	--
2024	UCF	15	12	6.0	5.0	1	--	--
2023	UCF	24	14	8.5	5.5	1	--	--
2022	UCF	2	1	0.5	0.5	--	--	--
Career		69	45	26.0	18.0	4	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2025

W 68–7

vs North Carolina A&T

1 TFL · 1 SACKS · 2 SOLO

Dominant 61-point win at home against North Carolina A&T.

With J. Nixon — 156 rush yds (4 car) · 2 TD · J. Brown — 15 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 100.0 · 106 rush yds (5 car) · 2 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 17-10vs Jacksonville State	1	0	0.0	0.0	—	2
Wk 2	W 68-7vs North Carolina A&T	3	2	1.5	1.0	—	0
Wk 4	W 34-9vs North Carolina	0	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 5	L 20-34@ Kansas State	2	2	2.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 6	L 20-27vs Kansas	1	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 7	L 11-20@ Cincinnati	3	1	0.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 8	W 45-13vs West Virginia	4	3	2.0	2.0	—	0	2 sacks
Wk 10	L 3-30@ Baylor	7	4	3.0	2.0	—	0	Season-high 7 tackles
Wk 11	L 27-30vs Houston	4	3	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 13	W 17-14vs Oklahoma State	1	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 14	L 21-41@ BYU	2	2	1.0	0.0	—	0
Total		28	18	11.0	7.0	—	2

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology