STRONG POINTS

Lawson is a very good athlete with all the physical tools. He has the foot quickness, acceleration and playing speed that are hard to find. He consistently hustles and chases hard in pursuit and has the playing speed and closing burst to finish plays when he gets close. He has very good size for a linebacker and will be a strong player at the point of attack. He has long arms to jolt blockers and can stay free to make plays. His experience at defensive end will combine with his natural explosiveness and athleticism to make him a dangerous pass rusher from his linebacker alignment.

WEAKNESSES

Obviously, the biggest negative is that Lawson played defensive end at N.C. State and will have to learn to play linebacker in the NFL. At defensive end, he did not consistently explode off the ball and he must show that he can get started moving quickly right at the snap from his linebacker alignment. He must use his hands more consistently to aggressively punch blockers to stay free and make tackles. He has virtually no experience in coverage and will need to really learn and adjust to playing behind the line of scrimmage.

POSITIONAL FACTORS

Grade Category Comments/Description 6.0 Read & React Other than not exploding off the ball as pass rusher, he consistently was able to read and react to the play well. 5.0 Initial Quickness He should be good at linebacker, but based on his inconsistent get-off at defensive end, it is no guarantee. 6.0 Play Strength His size, flexibility and long arms will enable him to play strong at the point of attack vs. blockers. 6.0 Tackling His athleticism and competitiveness enable him to breakdown and tackle well out in space. 5.5 Shed Blocker He does not shed offensive line blocks consistently, but will be good shedding tight end/running back blocks consistently. 6.0 Run at Him With his size, he will be good at stacking the point of attack, shedding and making plays. 6.5 Pursuit/Range With his playing speed and explosive closing burst to the ball, he will be very good in pursuit. 6.5 Closing Burst He has an explosive closing burst to the ball to finish plays he gets close to. 5.0 Zone Coverage No experience, but with athleticism, dropping into zone will be easy and will just need to read and react to quarterback well. 5.0 M/M Coverage Virtually no experience, but with athleticism and playing speed, he can run with any tight end/running back in man-to-man coverage. 6.0 Pass Rush Ability Experience at defensive end combined with explosiveness and closing ability will make him a good rusher. 5.0 Errors He made few mental errors at defensive end, but having no real linebacker experience, there is no way to know.

ATHLETIC ABILITY	Section Grade: 6.5
Lawson is a very good athlete, the only reason he was a successful college defensive end despite being drastically undersized. His natural athleticism gives him the tools to make the switch from college defensive end to pro linebacker. He has excellent foot quickness, which lets him accelerate to full speed in a flash and combines with his athleticism to help him change directions quickly and burst in the other direction. He has the playing speed to chase down ball carriers across the field in backside pursuit. His agility and flexibility help him bend his knees to break down and tackle well in space -- not always pretty, but he gets his man down. Lawson is a coordinated athlete who can keep his feet moving through traffic and adjusting to the tackle out in space.
Q.A.B. Quick Feet C.O.D. Flexibility Coordination 6.5 7.0 6.5 6.0 6.0

COMPETITIVENESS	Section Grade: 5.5
Lawson did not display any real aggressiveness attacking the offensive tackle, but he has shown toughness trying to stay in the lineup even when he gets dinged. He flashed the ability to make the big play at times, but more often than not he did not make clutch plays from his defensive end alignment. His overall production was very good chasing down running plays in pursuit. He flashed play-making ability on runs at him, was very inconsistent rushing the passer and has no experience playing behind the line of scrimmage in coverage. He was not a consistent player on every snap because he did not always attack the play and did a bad job of protecting legs from low/cut blocks and was chopped to the ground way too often for such a good athlete. He is a competitive team player who does hustle and chase hard after the ball in pursuit and never quits fighting to get to the ball.
Toughness Clutch Play Production Consistency Team Player Pride/Quit 5.5 5.0 6.0 5.5 6.0 6.0

MENTAL ALERTNESS	Section Grade: 6.0
Despite not always using good technique, Lawson is smart and he has the ability to learn based on his ability to be a productive college defensive end despite being a member of N.C. State's Track Team (on the 4x100 relay team). He has good instincts, which help him read and react to the play quickly once the ball has been snapped. However, as a defensive end, he did not display the instincts/anticipation to explode off the ball and threaten the corner as a speed/edge rusher. He consistently maintained a high level of concentration/focus, which is what helped him be productive despite being so undersized.
Learn/Retain Instincts/Reactions Concentration 6.0 6.0 6.0

STRENGTH/EXPLOSION	Section Grade: 6.5
While he was clearly undersized as a defensive end, he has very good size for a linebacker -- his thin legs are not thin for a linebacker. He was able to stay in the lineup pretty well as a defensive end, so moving away from the line of scrimmage and having very good natural athleticism will enable him to be a durable NFL linebacker. While Lawson was not explosive off the ball from his defensive end alignment, he is explosive closing on ball carriers in pursuit and can make explosive, hard hits when he tackles. He has very good size for a linebacker, and with his ability to bend his knees and play with leverage, he has good playing strength. He will be able to hold his ground at the point of attack vs. NFL fullbacks/tight ends to get free and make plays.
Body Type Durability Explosion Play Strength 6.5 6.0 6.5 6.0