FRISCO, Texas – When the Cowboys selected Ohio State safety Caleb Downs with the 11th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Dallas' war room erupted in celebration. In the press conference following the first round, the Cowboys' brass admitted they didn't think Downs would be close to being available.
In the days and weeks after, Downs' selection captured headlines as one of the best picks in the draft, and rightfully so. But 12 picks after Downs became a Cowboy, Dallas' second first-round pick Malachi Lawrence was drafted to help the defense too. Lawrence's name hasn't been in as many headlines, and he's perfectly fine with that.
"I'm kind of used to being in the shadows," Lawrence said. "It doesn't faze me. Once the time comes, people will see the work that you put in…"
"Not being in the spotlight, if you get on Instagram, you probably won't scroll and see my name, but you'll probably see some other guys' names. Once you kind of get to know who I was, it's like I became out of the spotlight."
The Cowboys are excited about what Downs and Lawrence can do to help their defense, which was among the worst in the league and franchise history in 2025. Throughout the draft process, Downs was regarded as one of the best overall prospects in the class. Lawrence on the other hand was a name that wasn't discussed as widely, but that changed in Indianapolis.
"Kind of building up into the combine, I knew I was going to kill the combine," Lawrence said. "It was just funny hearing all the mocks and stuff like that. But yea, being in the shadows and then rising to the top, kind of used to that."
Sure enough, Lawrence's performance including a 40" vertical jump and 1.59 second 10-yard split caught the eyes of NFL personnel departments and ultimately led to Lawrence going higher than most mocks suggested.
Now, Lawrence's opportunity to make the climb up begins in his rookie season as part of Dallas' new-look defense, where the work has already begun in the offseason program and is similar to the expectations of his collegiate coaches.
"This minicamp has been great, just locking in with the vets," Lawrence said. "I'd say I definitely feel like I'm starting to get into that routine of being a pro. It kind of started at UCF too, NIL, so coaches are kind of forcing you to now be a pro. So it's really good."
One aspect of his game that the Cowboys are looking to work on is correct a false step in Lawrence's pass rush, which has been a point of emphasis for him during the time leading up to training camp.
"I've seen great work just hitting it every day," Lawrence said. "Just making it one of my key focuses so I can use my explosiveness to my advantage when getting off the ball. Working with BT [Jordan] with that has been great."
Along with working with Jordan, Lawrence has gotten some coaching from veteran OLB Rashan Gary, who the Cowboys traded for in March. In Lawrence's eyes, Gary has established himself as a leader in the OLB room and a leader on the team.
"He's very focused on the small details," Lawrence said of Gary. "Whether it's false stepping, whether it's working on our steps to get into the tackle, just little things like that. He's big on me with that."
Gary communicating with Lawrence and the rest of Dallas' defense is a common theme among what new defensive coordinator Christian Parker is looking to instill. That's the case on the rest of the defensive line as well, where Lawrence pointed to making sure everyone is one the same page being a crucial element to success.
"All good defenses communicate," Lawrence said. "Communication just helps if you're confused with something or you don't know. You never know, the person next to you could have really needed that, and it helped them make the play."
The next time Dallas' defense will all be together is in Oxnard, California at training camp when the Cowboys report on July 28.
