UCF EDGE Malachi Lawrence is going to Jerry World.
On Thursday night, Lawrence was selected by the Dallas Cowboys with the 23rd overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, becoming the fifth first-round draft pick in Knights history. It also made him the highest non-quarterback draft pick in program history, the first UCF defensive lineman selected since defensive tackle Kalia Davis in 2022, and the first UCF defensive end/EDGE selected since Bruce Miller in 2011.
The moment Malachi Lawrence became our 5th first rounder in program history…
📺 2026 #NFLDraft April 23-25 on NFLN/ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/jO4Rosteur
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) April 24, 2026
The selection also reunites Lawrence with another former UCF player, Demeitre Brim, who was hired by the Cowboys as their assistant defensive line coach back in February after spending the 2025 season with the Knights as a defensive analyst. So, Brim got to witness Lawrence record 28 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, seven sacks, three passes defended, and two forced fumbles on his way to a First-team All-Big 12 honor last season.
“He did an unbelievable job of working consistently and just continuing to get better in a year with Mike Dawson and Alex Grinch, and really happy for him,” UCF coach Scott Frost said of Lawrence on April 21.
“I got that call!”@Mzlzchi 🤝 @dallascowboys pic.twitter.com/q8QRB0jYLA
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) April 24, 2026
The Cowboys were a team particularly in need of pass rushers after finishing with the seventh-least sacks in the NFL last season. This was on top of them leading the league in passing yards allowed and rushing touchdowns allowed, though the latter is a shared title. Dallas also allowed the second-most passing touchdowns and the 10th-most rushing yards in the league last season.
Lawrence was not the Cowboys’ only roster addition to try to help address these defensive issues. Earlier in the draft, with the 11th overall pick, they selected Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, but what is of more concern for Lawrence is their trade to acquire pass rusher Rashan Gary from the Green Bay Packers back in March. With Gary’s starting experience with the Packers last season likely cementing him as a starting pass rusher on one side of the defense, that leaves just one starting spot on the other side for Lawrence to compete for.
Barring the Cowboys drafting any more pass rushers on Days 2 and 3 of the draft, Lawrence is most likely going to need to contend with the likes of Donovan Ezeiruaku and Sam Williams for that starting job. Both players were not regular starters last season, but still took the field in every game while logging a few starts.
However, Lawrence seems to be up for that challenge.
“They’re gonna receive, shoot, a dog, like a great player, like somebody that’s gonna come in and work from day one, great motor, and just bringing that pass rush ability to your team,” Lawrence said about what he would bring to the team that would draft him at UCF’s Pro Day.
Lawrence also already knows what he is going to do with his first NFL contract, which, based on being selected with the 23rd overall pick, is valued at $20,220,666, according to Spotrac.
“Shoot, I want to invest it,” Lawrence said.
Catch up on more UCF news below:
The Next Breakout NFL Prospect From The UCF Knights
Underrated UCF Knights Prospects Who Could Sneak Into the NFL Draft
List of Every UCF Knights First-Round Pick in NFL Draft History
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow