DeMarcus Lawrence

The team traded up with the Washington Redskins moving to the 34th position, in exchange for a second (#47-Trent Murphy) and a third round (#78-Spencer Long) draft choices, in order to select Lawrence in the second round.

After fracturing his right foot in training camp, he started the year on the injured reserve list and did not appear in a game until Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals.

The lost time affected his play and with little impact (11 tackles with no sacks), he could not earn the starter right defensive end job ahead of Jeremy Mincey.

He redeemed himself on the ensuing drive, on 4th and 3 with a minute left and the Lions threatening to win the game from the Cowboys' 42-yard line, he sacked Stafford, causing a fumble and recovering it all in one play, sealing the victory.

He had a strong showing in the playoffs with two sacks, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

Although defensive end Greg Hardy was the big offseason acquisition by the Cowboys, Lawrence had a bigger impact from his left defensive end position.

He entered the season with an improved physical presence and would develop his edge rushing skills with every passing week.

He made his first career start in the season opener against the New York Giants.

He made four tackles, three quarterback pressures and his first regular season sack against the New Orleans Saints.

He had his first career multi-sack game (2) against the Washington Redskins, to go along with two tackles (one for loss), one quarterback hurry, and his first career forced fumble.

He made five tackles, one sack and two quarterback hurries against the Green Bay Packers.

He had four tackles for loss, one sack and one quarterback hurry against the New York Jets.

He had six tackles and two quarterback pressures in the season finale against the Redskins.

Lawrence finished the season with a streak of seven games with at least a sack.

DeMarcus Lawrence (born April 28, 1992) is an American football defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL).

Lawrence enrolled at Butler Community College and was redshirted in 2010.

As a redshirt freshman in 2011, he collected 69 tackles (second on the team), 21 tackles for loss (led the team) and 12 sacks (led the team), while earning All-Jayhawk Conference and NJCAA All-America honors.

He transferred to Boise State University before the 2012 season.

As a sophomore, he started all 11 games and led the team with 13.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.

He also made 48 tackles, four forced fumbles (tied for the team lead), two fumble recoveries (one returned for a 25-yard touchdown), one interception and one blocked kick.

He had nine tackles against Michigan State.

He had 2.5 sacks against Miami (OH).

He made 2.5 tackles for loss against San Diego State.

Lawrence had 3.5 sacks against Nevada.

He made 9 tackles (5 solo) against the United States Air Force Academy.

As a junior in 2013, he started in all 12 games, posting 72 tackles (third on the team), 20.5 tackles for loss (sixth in the nation and ninth in school history), 10.5 sacks (fifth in school history) and two blocked kicks.

He had a streak of six-consecutive games with a sack.

His 20 career sacks were tied for the seventh in school history and his 34 career tackles for loss ranked 14th in school history.

He was drafted by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft.

He played college football at Butler Community College and Boise State.

Lawrence attended Silver Bluff High School.

As a senior, he played tight end, offensive tackle and defensive tackle, while tallying 97 tackles and three sacks.

He received North-South All-Star honors.

He declared for the 2014 NFL draft after the season.

After releasing franchise career sack leader DeMarcus Ware in a salary cap move and having previously lost starters Jason Hatcher and Jay Ratliff, the Dallas Cowboys looked to improve the talent of their defensive line in the 2014 NFL draft.

He played a significant role in the Wild Card Round against the Detroit Lions on January 4, 2015, with the Cowboys leading 24–20 and just over two minutes remaining in the game, quarterback Matthew Stafford fumbled deep in Detroit's territory.

Rather than falling on the ball to down it and securing the game-clinching turnover, Lawrence attempted to pick it up and score, which resulted in his fumbling the ball back to the Lions.

He appeared in all 16 games (13 starts), while making 56 tackles, eight tackles for loss (third on the team), eight sacks (led the team), three quarterback pressures (second on the team) In January 2016, he had back surgery, which turned out to be more serious than originally expected.

On June 30, 2016, Lawrence was suspended for four games for amphetamine use, after his appeal was denied.

He had three tackles (two for loss), one sack, one quarterback pressure and one forced fumble against the Pittsburgh Steelers.