Malachi Lawrence

Malachi Lawrence (born July 21, 2003) is an American professional football outside linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCF Knights and was selected by the Cowboys in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft.

Early life Lawrence attended duPont Manual High School in Louisville, Kentucky, where he played linebacker and tight end. He committed to the University of Central Florida to play college football in December 2020, originally under head coach Josh Heupel.

College career Lawrence played at UCF from 2021 to 2025. Over his first two years he played in three games and had two tackles and 0.5 sacks. As a redshirt sophomore in 2023, he played in all 13 games and had 27 tackles and 7.5 sacks. As a junior in 2024, he started 10 of 11 games and recorded 15 tackles and five sacks. As a senior in 2025 Lawrence started all 12 games, while recording 28 tackles and seven sacks. Lawrence was named a first-team All-Big 12.

College

Season Team Class GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles Cmb Solo Ast TfL Sck Int Yds Lng TD PD FF FR Yds TD 2022 UCF SO 3 2 1 1 0.5 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2023 UCF JR 13 27 17 10 10.5 7.5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2024 UCF JR 11 15 12 3 6.0 5.0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 2025 UCF SR 12 28 17 11 11.0 7.0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 Career 39 72 47 25 28.0 20.0 0 0 0 0 5 3 1 0 0

Professional career

Lawrence was selected in the first round, 23rd overall, by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2026 NFL draft.