Daniel Jones will get the most attention as the New York Giants first-round pick in 2019. That's because he was selected sixth overall and is a quarterback. It also helps that at the time it was a very controversial selection. However, Jones was not the only first-round pick by the Giants in 2019. They also selected defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence with the 17th overall pick.
With the season now over for New York, it's time to look back on Lawrence's rookie campaign and see how he measured up.
Let's first take a simple look at the stats. Lawrence had 38 tackles (three for loss) and 2.5 sacks. He also had one forced fumble, one pass deflection, and nine quarterback hits.
Overall, those are solid numbers for a rookie defensive tackle. They are nothing insane and don't expect him to be in the running for rookie of the year with those numbers, but solid all the same.
Numbers are not the only thing to look at though. Simply put, Lawrence passes the ever-important eye test. He does a lot of things that won't show up in box scores.
The defensive tackle did a good job of bringing pressure to the quarterback, as well as blowing up run plays.
Unsurprisingly, Lawrence used his 6-foot-4 342-pound frame to get his way quite often. That meant he was constantly pushing offensive linemen and disrupting plays. That sometimes including taking on multiple blockers or plugging up a hole so the running back had to find a different way to go.
Sure, those don't show up in the stat sheet for the Giants, but they are wildly important. If Lawrence doesn't fill a gap, maybe a running back gets a massive gain. At the same time, whoever does end up getting the tackle, wouldn't have gotten it without the help of the big man.
What's great for the Giants is that at just 22 (turned 22 on November 12, 2019), Lawrence was already making an impact for the team. He still has a lot of learning and growing to do. With time, he's only going to get better.
Before the draft, there were some people saying he was about as close to Aaron Donald as you could get. Sure, no one is going to be Donald, but Lawrence had potential to be a true game changer that offenses need to plan for from the defensive tackle position. That's nearly impossible to find.
In year one, Lawrence showed that he definitely has a ton of potential. There were some problems and games where he barely factored. However, those are the growing pains. He also showed that he has the potential to be that game changer that would be so coveted.
Overall, there were definitely some games to forget and issues that need fixing. The good outweighs the bad though, and Lawrence deserves a very strong B+ grade.
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