The 2026 NFL Draft figures to be heavy on defense for the Buffalo Bills. We are fast-approaching that process as we tick down under two weeks remaining.<\/p>\n
One position near the top of the pecking order for Buffalo is edge rusher. The team is sorely in need of more speed to threaten the outside shoulder of opposing offensive tackle \u2014 which is true even after the notable addition to the edge room in veteran Bradley Chubb. Chubb is not a player at this stage in his career who\u2019s able to consistently win with speed around the corner.<\/p>\n
The 2026 rookie edge rusher class has a multitude of different body types and players who are able to find different ways to win. If you\u2019re looking for specialized speed rushers, you can certainly find them at the end of the first round in this class.<\/p>\n
One name to note is defensive end Malachi Lawrence out of UCF, someone who\u2019s been a consistent riser in media rankings and mock drafts. He was a Shrine Bowl participant in January and his buzz only ascended with an incredible NFL Scouting Combine workout (see below).<\/p>\n
What to like about Malachi Lawrence\u2019s game<\/p>\n
Lawrence certainly used his athletic gifts to his advantage in his roles at UCF over the course of four seasons. He lined up standing up and with his hand in the dirt with the Knights.<\/p>\n
He possesses a very strong first step to affect offensive tackles very early into his rush. That athleticism shows up when he flattens on his chase to a quarterback and his ability to show twitchy change of direction to counter to the inside on tackles over-setting.<\/p>\n
Lawrence has a legitimate bag of moves to win his reps. The ability to throw a chop, club, and swat hands shows up fairly consistently in his reps. This is encouraging for a potential role early in his NFL career. For an athletic profile like his, he\u2019s not as raw as you\u2019d imagine for a projected late first- to second-round selection.<\/p>\n
This is a player who plays with his hair on fire every rep. Taking plays off is not an option for Lawrence. He has a violent edge to him despite his frame being less than impressive on the hoof. Fans will appreciate his urgency in all facets.<\/p>\n
Where Malachi Lawrence may struggle in the NFL<\/p>\n
Of course, a late first-round potential slot for an athletic profile like this doesn\u2019t come without blemishes on the profile. Among them, Lawrence has never had more than 7.5 sacks in a single season in college. His overall raw production leaves some to be desired despite being by far the best prospect on his team in the Big 12 Conference.<\/p>\n
Lawrence may be a very good athlete, but he doesn\u2019t possess the ability that the elite rushers at his size possess \u2014 and that\u2019s ankle flexion\/bend. His athleticism is more helpful to close space in a hurry and change direction rather than truly bending a corner.<\/p>\n
Lawrence\u2019s size is an issue. He has a thin frame and doesn\u2019t appear to have much ability to pack on more weight. Despite his aggressiveness, he\u2019s not a player who\u2019s going to truly be able to consistently convert speed to power with his size profile. However, he does well to keep blockers off his frame because of his length (33 5\/8\u201d arms).<\/p>\n
Why Malachi Lawrence makes sense for the Buffalo Bills<\/p>\n
Lawrence has been a steady riser during the draft process, especially so as we close in on the big weekend. The arm length, urgency, athleticism, and a mix of pass-rush moves have made Lawrence an enticing prospect despite being nearly 23 years old.<\/p>\n
The Bills are missing components of a standup rusher who traditionally plays the role in a scheme fit for new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. Lawrence provides some of those missing components.<\/p>\n
Lawrence\u2019s overall profile isn\u2019t all that different from current Denver Broncos star Nik Bonitto who Leonhard, of course, has plenty of experience with throughout his career. If Lawrence is the pick at 26 overall or via a trade back, the scheme fit will make plenty of sense in Buffalo\u2019s new system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NFL Draft figures to be heavy on defense for the Buffalo Bills. We are fast-approaching that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":863250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2048],"tags":[215,214,53,1623,2086,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-863249","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-buffalo-bills","8":"tag-bills","9":"tag-buffalo","10":"tag-buffalo-bills","11":"tag-buffalo-bills-draft","12":"tag-buffalobills","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116381248800758406","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}