New York Giants 2019 rookie profile: Dexter Lawrence, DT

The New York Giants picked defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence with the 17th overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft. Here, we look at his rookie profile.

The New York Giants selected defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence from Clemson in the first round (17th overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft. You can certainly see why. Big Blue had one of the worst overall defenses in the league in 2018, allowing 25.8 points per game (ranked 23rd) and wanted to improve that unit.

The 6-4, 342-pound road-grader of a player is expected to clog the running lanes for opposing backs. He’ll team with B.J. Hill and Dalvin Tomlinson to give Big Blue a formidable defensive front. Who knows, maybe he’ll turn into another Damon “Snacks” Harrison.

The Giants would love that — absolutely love it. Lawrence is a two-time All-ACC selection (2017, 2018) with 9.5 career sacks and 18 tackles for loss. He’s also a two-time national champion (2016, 2018). His one blemish is that he was ruled ineligible for the 2019 College Football Playoff after testing positive for the banned substance, ostarine.

Let’s take a look at some of his highlights::

The Wake Forest, NC native has outstanding quickness for such a big man and is a better athlete than he looks. He works off blocks very well, especially cut blocks, due to his agility. You really can’t block him with one player so he is going to be disruptive in either a 4-3 or 3-4 defensive scheme. He has tremendous power and strength and his bull rush will keep opposing signal-callers off their spot.

Lawrence may eventually settle in as a nose tackle but he has the versatility to excel as an every-down defensive tackle on the next level. He has nice length, so once he corrals you, you are going down. The Giants may have over-drafted him a little (he may have been available later in the first round) but that doesn’t matter now.

There is no doubt that Lawrence should commence the 2019 NFL campaign as a starter. He’ll be counted on to improve a Big Blue defense that ranked 20th in the league in rushing defense (118.6 yards per game) a year ago. He comes with a winning pedigree from Clemson and that hopefully will rub off on his new teammates.

This was a solid pick by general manager Dave Gettleman. As long as Lawrence watches his weight and conditioning, he should be a solid starter for years to come.