Stop making the comparisons.
Dexter Lawrence, whom the Giants drafted with the 17th-overall pick in this year’s draft, is listed at 6-foot-4 and 342 pounds — a physique that is usually seen on the interior of the defensive line. Just one week into training camp, however, the former Clemson Tiger has primarily lined up as an end in defensive coordinator James Bettcher’s 3-4 defense. Lawrence enjoys the extra space, but most guys his size are primarily run-stoppers, seldom rushing the passer and often coming off the field on obvious passing downs.
Well, Lawrence isn’t most guys.
“I’m not everybody else in the league,” Lawrence said Tuesday before practice. “I’m Dexter Lawrence the second. I’m different. I bring a different attitude to the game. I’ve done very in-depth kind of work this summer, this spring … Working on my pass rush, trying to be a three-down guy for the team, just to help us win games.”
Lawrence’s ability to transcend some of the limitations for guys his size is what justifies taking a defensive lineman, not an edge rusher, so high in the draft. It’s something the team saw long before training camp.
“He has ability to play against the run and the pass,” defensive line coach Gary Emanuel said. “He has a passion for the game, he can play with some technique, he’s more athletic than you think for a big guy his size, and he’s just a smart football player. Being down there for the pro day, I’m spending time down there with him and people have gotten to really love him at Clemson, and we can see why and you guys will learn why.”
If the Giants are to have any sort of success in 2019, they hope to learn why soon. Lawrence joins a unit starved for pass rushing — they tied for 30th in the league in sacks with 30 in 2018. While it won’t be his main responsibility, the Giants will be looking to Lawrence, along with new additions Oshane Ximines and Markus Golden and the development of Lorenzo Carter, to right that ship.
It’s an added pressure the rookie enjoys.
“I kind of got it a lot when I was in college,” Lawrence said. “And I like the pressure, simply because I feel like everything starts up front with the d-line. That’s the attitude that we all bring into practice every day. It starts with us. We have to bring the energy, and the back seven will bring their energy. We just put the pressure on ourselves before anybody else puts it on us.”
Lawrence revels in the pressure his high draft selection brings. When he hits the field on Sundays, however, the Giants hope he’ll be the one creating the pressure.