Ranking the Dallas Cowboys 10 best players on the roster
By Randy Gurzi
2. DeMarcus Lawrence, EDGE
Before Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott had their very public contract negotiations, DeMarcus Lawrence had one of his own. A former second-round pick out of Boise State (that Dallas traded up for in the 2014 NFL Draft), Lawrence had an up and down start to his career.
Injuries slowed him in his rookie campaign as well as his third season but he had his moments that stood out during those first three seasons. As a rookie, he had two sacks in the postseason and a huge fumble recovery that helped the Cowboys knock off Detroit. He also had an eight-sack campaign in 2015 which proved he could get the job done when healthy.
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Then in 2017, Lawrence broke out. The fourth-year pro had 58 tackles with 14.5 sacks and was named to his first Pro Bowl. As fate would have it, this was done in a contract year and while the team wanted to keep him, they felt as though they needed to see more before giving him the big contract.
Lawrence played on the franchise tag that season, a move that worked out great for him but proved Dallas erred in waiting to pay No. 90. Lawrence balled out again and his asking price shot up from roughly $17 million per season to $20 million.
Even with his success on the field, there were some tense moments in the contract discussion as Dallas tried to save all they could which nearly led to Lawrence requesting a trade. In the end, he signed a multi-year deal and had another great season for the Cowboys in 2019.
His numbers weren’t where he would have liked them as Lawrence finished with 45 tackles and five sacks but he still received a grade of 86.3 from PFF (subscription required), making him the highest-graded defender on the team in 2019 and the second-highest graded player overall for the Cowboys.
Lawrence’s play has much more to do than the numbers and he is one of the more complete defensive ends in the NFL. He can generate pressure on the quarterback but also excels as a run defender. He does all the little things that make the entire line better, which shouldn’t be overlooked just because his sack total wasn’t double digits last season.