After sweating it out almost to the last minute before slightly moving up to select safety Caleb Downs, the Dallas Cowboys were right back on the clock nine picks later. With the secondary solidified, the team turned their attention to maximizing value.
The team found a trade partner with a familiar foe, the Philadelphia Eagles, and moved back from No. 20 to No. 23 while gaining two fourth-round picks. Once they were back on the clock, the Cowboys found themselves a long-term bookend to last year's second-round pick, Donovan Ezeiruaku. University of Central Florida's Malachi Lawrence is the newest Dallas Cowboy.
π¨ BREAKING:After trading with the #Eagles, the #Cowboys use the No. 23 pick in the #NFLDraft to select Malachi Lawrence (EDGE, UCF). pic.twitter.com/FqT5C9uS37
β Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) April 24, 2026
The Cowboys suffered through the losses of edge rushers DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons last season, and have now added another piece to the puzzle in trying to fix those deficiencies. The club traded for Rashan Gary this offseason and now adds UCF's Lawrence to add to the rotation.
The Cowboys have just one pick currently set for Day 2, the No. 92 pick, a third-round selection acquired when they traded DT Osa Odighizuwa to the San Francisco 49ers. They also have the No. 112, 114 and 137 picks in the fourth round they could potentially use as ammunition to move up on Friday.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Dallas Cowboys select UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence at pick No. 23