The 2026 NFL offseason is here and that means it’s time for mock drafts, draft profiles and everything that goes with them. So without further ado, here’s one of many Draft Profiles for the 2025 NFL draft.
Malachi Lawrence, DE/EDGE, UCF
HT: 6’4
WT: 254
Accolades:
- First-team All-Big 12 (2025)
Video:
Pros:
- Layered Rush Arsenal: Possesses a deep plan built on chops, swipes, rips, and timely inside counters that consistently keep tackles guessing.
- Active Hand Usage: Works his hands quickly to disengage from contact and create secondary rush opportunities when the initial move stalls.
- Hip Flexibility & Cornering Ability: Shows natural bend to flatten his angle at the top of the rush without losing speed or balance.
- Explosive Get-Off: Fires off the snap with a sudden first step and has the closing burst to generate immediate pressure.
- Relentless Pursuit Motor: Plays with consistent effort, chasing quarterbacks outside the pocket and finishing on extended plays.
- Effective Length: Uses his reach to disrupt punch timing and make it difficult for tackles to establish early control.
- Elite Verified Athleticism: Combine testing confirmed rare explosiveness and movement traits for the edge position.
Cons:
- Run Defense Vulnerability: Can be displaced from his gap against downhill power concepts, limiting his effectiveness setting the edge.
- Anchor Strength: Has difficulty holding ground when linemen get into his chest, especially versus double teams and drive blocks.
- Inconsistent Tackling Finish: Missed tackle rate is elevated; needs to show more control and wrap consistency in space.
- Frame & Play Strength Questions: Lean build creates concerns about adding functional mass without compromising his speed-based profile.
- Eye Discipline: Will lose assignment integrity at times, particularly versus misdirection, pull action, and play-action looks.
Summary:
Lawrence’s pro projection is driven primarily by what he offers as a pass rusher. His top-end edge speed, increasingly refined rush arsenal, and natural ability to bend and flatten at the top of the arc give him a legitimate pathway to impacting games in sub-package roles early in his career. His production trended upward throughout his college tenure, with his most disruptive stretch coming against Big 12 competition in 2025, where he regularly compressed the pocket using burst and active hands. Defenses that lean on odd fronts or deploy heavy passing-down personnel groupings should be able to carve out a defined role for a rusher with his get-off and closing range.
Follow, Like and Subscribe to Bucs Report
BucsReport.com
Looking for more NFL Draft coverage? Find everything you need at NFLDraftBuzz.Com!
For more on this and everything Buccaneers check back here hourly at BucsReport.com
