When a player is selected in the first round of the NFL draft, patience is not typically a luxury to be afforded. First round picks are cornerstones in the NFL, and players picked there are expected to make significant contributions significantly quickly. Even quarterbacks, a position with notoriously long development time, isn’t afforded a full season of understudy. It’s a play-now league and the Dallas Cowboys are in the center of it.
If anyone wants proof for this lack of patience, they should ask former Cowboys first-round pick Tyler Guyton. Guyton, a project player through-and-through, joined a Dallas team with an immediate need at left tackle. Already an inexperienced college player, Guyton was asked to flip sides of the line and play football
at the game’s highest level on Day 1. Entering his third year, Guyton appears to finally be getting it, but it wasn’t without criticism along the way.
Malachi Lawrence, one of Dallas’ first-round picks from 2026, joins Guyton in this elite fraternity. Like Guyton, he’s a raw first round talent who needs lots of development as he learns the pro game. Like Guyton, Lawrence is a player needing a ton of technical refinement. Like Guyton, he’s going to flash good and bad early in his career. And like Guyton, the sky is the limit for this supremely talented young player.
In an interview with The Athletic, Cowboys VP Will McClay discussed issues ranging from coaching, to personnel, to philosophy. During this conversation, he had nothing but positive things to say about his new rookie pass rusher.
“With Malachi, his speed is evident, but also being able to play the run and be physical like you have to in this defense, and (he’s) done it fairly quickly. And understanding that, I think the sky is the limit from a physical standpoint.”
McClay didn’t request patience from fans, rather he described things as moving “quickly,” effectively raising expectations. While the learning curve may be ahead of schedule, tangible results most likely won’t follow suit. Unlike Guyton’s situation in 2024, the Cowboys don’t need Lawrence to start on Day 1. In fact, there’s a bit of a logjam in front of Lawrence right now.
Donovan Ezeiruaku, the second-year rusher with break-out expectations, and Rashan Gary, the high-floor veteran leader playing on a one-year term, are locked in as starters on the edge in 2026. Lines for the rotation start behind these two players and Lawrence will face stiff competition from the likes of veterans Von Miller and James Houston.
Miller, a former All-Pro, is happily taking a mentorship role in Dallas this year, but that doesn’t mean he’s not interested in posting sacks. Miller is likely to be a pass-rushing specialist for the Cowboys, meaning many of the prime opportunities are off the board.
Houston, assuming he makes the final cut, might just be the best pure pass rusher of them all. He posted a better pressure rate than both Ezeiruaku and Gary last season,so it’s unlikely he’ll be reduced to just running downs this season.
Snaps will be hard to come by and that’s not necessarily a bad thing provided Lawrence stays focused on the task and stays ahead of schedule in his development. The sky is the limit for the rookie, but given the circumstances, patience is in order.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Snaps hard to come by, but ‘Sky is the limit’ for top Cowboys rookie
