Demarcus Lawrence’s 2018 was a year to prove if he was the player who graded below 80.0 in each of his first three seasons or the player that led all edge defenders with a grade of 91.6 in 2017. He proved himself by putting on another strong performance defending the run and rushing the passer, earning a top-10 grade among qualifying edge defenders in both. After gambling on himself with the franchise tag this season, Lawrence will look to cash in this offseason.
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The combination of back to back strong seasons, being only 27 years old by the start of next season and playing a premium position like edge defender means that Lawrence will be in high demand. The former Boise State product led the league in games with three or more pressures, earning that in 14 of his 16 games played. He has been the definition of consistency, producing a pressure in every game of his career except for one. Lawrence is going to be highly coveted as one of the best all-around edge defenders in the league – a player of his caliber doesn’t hit free agency very often.
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