Having played on an LSU defense filled with stars, Rashard Lawrence has flown under the radar in the build-up to the 2020 NFL Draft. However, the defensive tackle is confident he possesses an untapped potential that can be realized in the pros.
Lawrence’s relative lack of hype compared to his fellow Tigers is perhaps no surprise. With the likes of K’Lavon Chaisson, Kristian Fulton, and Grant Delpit claiming the limelight on the defensive side of the ball as they thrived down the stretch of LSU’s run to the national championship.
Pro Football Network’s Nicholas McGee had the opportunity to sit down and discuss LSU’s success with Lawrence. They also talked about the upcoming draft and what makes the former Tiger so special.
The magic behind LSU’s 2019 season
As Lawrence explains, the way that the talent coalesced was what made the 2019 version of LSU’s defense so special.
“We played team defense at LSU,” Lawrence told Pro Football Network. “For K’Lavon, particularly, him and Kristian, when they’re healthy, they’re dangerous. As we saw in the back end of the season for K’Lavon, as he got healthy and feeling good and everything was 100 percent with him, he was unblockable.
“Same with Kristian Fulton, I think that a guy like him he can shut down a whole side of the field. Grant Delpit, he went through some things early in the season, but he played his best ball when we needed him the most. We played team defense, we were team-first guys and we were guys that just loved to play the game. We’re going to have a lot of guys, probably seven or eight guys off that defense that started last year getting drafted and having success at the next level. It was a great group and a historic team for sure.”
Lawrence’s contribution to that championship effort should not be undersold, however. One of the leaders of the defense, having become a team captain in his sophomore year, he displayed impressive resilience to bounce back from injuries and play a pivotal role for the Tigers.
He was absent for spring ball because of knee surgery and missed time during the season with an ankle injury. Despite those problems, Lawrence was named second-team All-SEC, with 28 tackles, six for a loss, 2.5 sacks, and three pass breakups.
“My mental health was always the most important thing,” Lawrence said of his resilience. “I think that any time you go through an injury and you want to be out there with your teammates and your brothers, you have to have a strong mental state and I think that I leaned on the trainers at LSU specifically to help me rehab three times a day as much as I could.
“If I wasn’t in class and I wasn’t in the film room, I was in PT getting treatment and I think in the long run in the back end of the season, I was healthy and I played my best ball going into the National Championship and through it.”
Rashard Lawrence’s potential and draft outlook
Heavy-handed and stout at the point of attack, Lawrence excelled at pushing the pocket when he harnessed the short-area burst that was evident in his athletic testing.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Lawrence recorded a Relative Athletic Score of 6.2 out of possible ten. RAS is a composite metric based on the average of all the percentiles for each of the metrics a player completes in his workout.
Lawrence’s score is above average, but where he shone was in his 10-yard split in the 40-yard dash. He ran the 40 in 5.07 seconds, but his 10-yard split of 1.72 secs earned him an elite score for that metric of 8.53.
That kind of explosiveness off the snap should intrigue teams looking for depth on the defensive line, as should Lawrence’s versatility, which saw him play every position on the line in his LSU career.
Asked if he had a favorite position, Lawrence replied: “I like to play 3-technique, but I pride myself on versatility, I think I can play anywhere from a 5-technique to a 1. The name of the game in the NFL is versatility and having depth on the defensive line.
“I think that me being able to play across the line interests a bunch of teams, and I also think that it helps me have value. You want to have value as a defensive lineman, you don’t want to have one set position, and I’ve had success at all those positions. I think the team that gets me knows that I have value, and I can play and learn up and down the defensive line.”
Teams may have durability concerns following his injury issues in college but, between his physical gifts, his versatility, and a pass-rush arsenal he is still developing, Lawrence expects to enjoy a lengthy NFL career.
“What they can expect to get from Rashard Lawrence is a guy that’s high character, willing to learn and wants to improve,” said Lawrence. “I haven’t hit my potential yet, and my ceiling, and I’m looking forward to getting the opportunity to showcase my ability at the next level.
“I think I have physical hands, and I’m continuing to develop my pass-rush moves. I think that whoever gets me is going to get a guy that wants to be better and is going to play a long time in the NFL.”