Although Demarcus Lawrence is a solid defender with two Pro Bowl nods, the defensive end of DeMarcus Lawrence still doesn’t get the props he earned at the Dallas Cowboys.
DALAS – Being an underrated Dallas Cowboys is like being the least prickly of many hedgehogs. With the national fame the team is gaining, along with its outstanding social media presence, it’s hard to truly underestimate the Cowboys player.
However, Pro Football Focus’s Sam Monson reviewed all 32 NFL lists and determined that the most underrated cowboy is defensive demarcus Lawrence.
“Lawrence is widely considered a great player, but he does not get the full recognition he deserves because his high pressure did not lead to the usual number of secs,” Monson wrote.
“Across the league, about 15% of the pressure is turning into bags, but that figure was only 12.3% for Lawrence over the last three years and 11.1% in 2021. end the pressure and go to the defender. Most likely, this data point is largely due to variance and other factors. In fact, Lawrence was unlucky when it came to layoffs over the past few seasons, but before that he had come back to years ago with 13 or more bags. His lowest PFF score in five seasons is 86.2, ”Monson continued.
Why Lawrence may fall into the ranks of the “underestimated” may be wrong. How can one underestimate the two-time Knight Pro Bowl, which has twice exceeded the double-digit score? Anyway, with the advent of linebacker Mickey Parsons, who had a great year as a newbie, Lawrence may find himself in the ranks of the forgotten.
The former second-round pick of 2014 from Boise has played in just seven games last season and he has not produced more than 10.0 bags since 2018, his last year in the Pro Bowl.
Yet defense coordinator Dan Quinn saw in his first season how much Lawrence was part of the face in defense.
“Identity, it doesn’t happen in one day in terms of how the team wants to play,” Quinn told reporters on December 20, 2021. “But I would say that D-Law is very helpful to this identity because of the violent nature with which it plays, the speed with which it plays.”
Lawrence is out of sight: new stars in defense come to the fore in Parsons and Trevon Diggs, who is in his third year. However, Lawrence’s influence on the team is still evident as the 30-year-old maintains a presence in the defensive line room as one of the old warhorses.
Do you think Demarcus Lawrence will get the more recognition he deserves in 2022? Share your thoughts with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.
