Just 10 games into his NFL career, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch is rapidly becoming one of the NFL’s young stars.
Cornerback Byron Jones, 10 games into his fifth season, is just now starting to show the promise that made the Cowboys take him with the 27th pick of the 2015, and each week Jaylon Smith looks more and more like the dude who would’ve been taken with a top 10 pick, of his knee hadn’t exploded in his final college game.
All of that is nice, but let’s end any conversation or confusion about who’s the best player on the Cowboys’ defense.
It’s DeMarcus Lawrence — and it’s not even close.
Dallas will need Lawrence to be at his disruptive game-changing best to topple New Orleans and quarterback Drew Brees Thursday at AT&T Stadium.
Brees has been sacked just 10 times this season, and he’s scrambled out of the pocket just four times. Compare that to Dak Prescott who has been sacked 38 times and scrambled 26 times.
Obviously, Prescott is considerably more mobile than Brees. The point is that New Orleans’ offensive line allows him to throw from a comfort zone.
For Dallas to win, that must change — and Lawrence must have a huge game.
He’s certainly capable.
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After all, he’s one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL. He’s the most complete defensive end in the game, a player who plays the run as hard and as he rushes the passer.
He plays with a relentless fury matches by few others in the league.
Watch the video, it doesn’t lie. A few times every game Lawrence rushes the passer turns after the ball is delivered and gets a piece of the tackle.
He’s the poster child for every coach on how to play the game. But he’s not just about pure athleticism, he’s about technique and the nuances of the position
The reality is Lawrence is a playmaker every bit as much as Ezekiel Elliott or Amari Cooper or Dak Prescott.
Against Washington, he intercepted the first pass of his career with a unique combination of athleticism and agility.
As the right tackle tried to chop block him, he used his hands to maintain his balance. Then he leaped high to tip Colt McCoy’s pass and make a juggling interception.
Five plays later, Prescott scored on a zig-zagging five-yard run for a 31-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter against Atlanta, he sacked Matt Ryan on third-and-six knocking the Falcons out of field goal range and forcing a punt. Earlier, he combined with Tyrone Crawford on another third-down sack.
He’s fourth among defensive lineman with 47 tackles, 13th in NFL with 8.5 sacks, and tied for third with 13 tackles for loss.
According to Pro Football Focus, Lawrence has rushed the passer 323 times this season, and he has 45 pressures — a combination of sacks, hits and pressures on the quarterback — the same as Houston’s J.J. Watt.
Only four players have more.
It has become obvious that Lawrence’s decision to bet on himself is going to have enormous financial consequences.
He’s earning $17 million this year because the Cowboys places the franchise tag on him after ruby couldn’t work out a long-term deal.
It was a tricky negotiation for the Cowboys because Lawrence’s 14.5 sacks last year was nearly twice his career high, but he also had two back surgeries in his first three seasons.
The Cowboys, if we’re honest, just wanted to make sure his 2017 season wasn’t a fluke before they signed him to a huge-money deal. Well, it clearly wasn’t a fluke and his agent, David Canter, referred to Lawrence as the game’s best defensive lineman several weeks ago in a Dallas Morning News article.
That would seem to indicate he wants a deal for Lawrence that will be north of $20 million per year. Watt signed a six-year, $100 million deal in 2014 with $20 million guaranteed.
It won’t be all that hard for the Cowboys to agree to the total worth of the deal with Canter. The sticking point will probably be the guaranteed money.
He’s not going to get the $50 million guarantee that Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams did, but he’ll be somewhere between $30 million guaranteed Jacksonville’s Calais Campbell and Arizona’s Chandler Jones received.
“We'll be fine,” Cowboys Vice President Stephen Jones said. “When they're worthy of it, I don't have a problem paying it."
Lawrence gets another opportunity to raise his price tag Thursday against New Orleans.
