The newest member of the New York Giants is Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence after the team selected him with the No. 17 overall pick in the first round.
Big Blue met with Lawrence ahead of the 2019 NFL Draft and while he seems to have been on the Giants’ radar, not many people had him going to New York.
There might be some fans out there who don’t know much about the Giants’ second pick, but we’re here to change all that. Here are five things you need to know about Lawrence.
A native of North Carolina
Lawrence was born and raised in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and attended Wake Forest High School. He was seen as perhaps the best player to ever come out of the state, and with good reason.
The Clemson product totaled 28 sacks, 204 tackles, six forced fumbles and one interception during his high school career. As a result, he had the pick of the lot for schools, which included Clemson, Florida, Florida State and Alabama. He ultimately decided to go with Clemson.
Five-star recruit
Lawrence was one of the highest-rated five-star recruits in Clemson history out of high school. The first-team USA Today All-American was rated as the No. 2 overall recruit by 247sports.com, No. 3 by Scout.com and No. 6 by ESPN.
In his senior season in high school, Lawrence totaled 91 tackles (21 for loss), 13 sacks and 16 quarterback hurries in 12 games. He also played three years of basketball, further showing off his impressive athletic ability.
Drop-off in college production
Lawrence saw a noticeable drop-off in his production from his freshman to junior years. After earning Freshman All-American honors with 6.5 sacks and 62 total tackles (8.5 for loss) in 14 games, Lawrence totaled just 3.5 sacks and 69 combined tackles (9.5 for loss) in his final two seasons at Clemson.
Of course, this has led to some concerns about his consistency, but the fact that teams began to scheme to stop him can’t be lost in that. Lawrence is still a great athlete with size and power, helping him to earn a first-round selection when it was all said and done.
The accolades
The newest defensive tackle for the Giants is no stranger to awards and winning. After breaking the single-season record for sacks by a freshman with five — a record once held by the likes of William Perry, Ricky Sapp and Shaq Lawson — Lawrence was named the 2016 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Lawrence was also part of two national title-winning teams at Clemson, although he was unable to play in the 2019 game after being suspended for testing positive for a banned substance. He did earn First team All-ACC honors that season.
Lawrence played in the 2017 game and recorded four tackles in Clemson’s winning effort over Alabama. If nothing else, the Giants are getting themselves a winner with the No. 17 overall pick.
Banned substance suspension
Prior to the College Football Playoff last season, Lawrence, along with two other Clemson teammates, was suspended after testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug ostarine.
Lawrence didn’t play in the Cotton Bowl against Notre Dame or the National Championship against Alabama. He claimed he had no idea how the banned substance got into his body and he told inquiring NFL teams the same when they met with him, per Matt Connolly of The State.
“It’s very frustrating for me because something chemically in my body could’ve happened that I don’t know of,” he said. “It’s kind of annoying. I’m getting tired of it, really. It’s just stupid.”
We can’t say for sure whether or not Lawrence is being truthful, but his excuse is one we’ve heard before from other athletes. We’ll just have to take his word for it.
