Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT: Malachi Lawrence is a Young, Explosive Pass Rusher for the Indianapolis Colts

Starting point is 00:00:00 2026 NFL Combined star Malachi Lawrence could be an excellent fit for the Colts in this draft. Let's get to it. You are Locked-on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back to Locked-on Colts, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Now, the number one sports podcast network around. Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hickshaw, resident film nerd of Horseshoehuddle.com.

Starting point is 00:00:35 and your favorite co-host here on the Lockdown Colts podcast. I can say that because Jake is not with me today. We are doing yet another spotlight series here on the channel where I'm diving into a prospect. We are removed from the NFL Combine, but that doesn't mean we can't look back on some of the performances and get excited about their potential going into this upcoming April draft. And one player that really stood out was defensive end Malachi Lawrence from UCF. Now Malachi Lawrence is an interesting player where it took him

Starting point is 00:01:05 quite a bit of time at UCF to really build up his game and get to where he is today. But one thing that I think the Colts are really going to like is that he spent his entire career at that program. So he went for being a registered player to a player that had to earn his way into the rotation and to being this first team all big 12 player in 2025. But at 6 foot 4, 253 pounds with 33 inch arms, he came out in the combine and ran a blazing fast 4, 5, 2, 40 yard dash, jumped a 4.4. 40 inch vertical and had an outstanding 10-10 broad jump as well. Just an outstanding workout for the young player.

Starting point is 00:01:42 So good size, good arm length, explosive numbers off the charts and spent his entire career at one program. I can already see Chris Ballard salivating about this right now. But looking at his film was something that I kind of studied today after going back through some of my combine notes and looking at some standouts. And he really is an impressive player on film. You know, I'm not going to say he's a top 10. or top 50 player in this draft.

Starting point is 00:02:06 But I think there are a lot of aspects of his game that you can work with at the next level. He's a very explosive mover with quick hands. So even with his frame and with his long arms, I think he uses his hands really well to disengage at the point of attack, especially when he's turning the corner as a pass rusher. I really liked some of his cross-chop clips and some of his swim moves as well. His ability to just disengage once engaged was very impressive to me. and this was even against some of the better teams they played against. I'm not going to say like West Virginia and Cincinnati are some great teams,

Starting point is 00:02:40 but it's better than like, you know, some, some FCS teams or some of the group of five teams that teams play against throughout the year. So those were the couple games I watched and I thought he played really well in those games. He really excels, though, at shooting gaps and disrupting run lanes. Like I'm not going to say he's the greatest run defender in this class. But if you can get him in a scheme that allows him to attack and just shoot gaps, get upfield and use that explosiveness to the best of his ability, then I think he can be a very impactful run defender for your team.

Starting point is 00:03:09 It kind of reminds me a little bit of Atatamiwa, Atabori, except at defensive end, where Atatamiwa is not this great run defender, but if you let him shoot gaps, you let him use his explosiveness and his leg drive to get upfield, he can be a plus run defender for you. Malachi Lawrence kind of fits that similar mold, but at the defensive end spot. And speaking of where he played on defensive end spot, And speaking of where he played on defense as well, UCF kind of used him across the entire line. You know, it was kind of hard to find him.

Starting point is 00:03:37 She would see some plays where he's lined up inside at 3 tech. He's lined up inside at 4 tech. And these are on base rundowns when UCF would get into these underlooks and have other defensive ends out wide. So they would move him inside. And while I'm not going to say that he was perfect as a 250-pound defensive tackle in college, I did think that he did some good things there with his gap shooting, with his explosiveness. And also, I think that is part of the reason why his production took a minute to really take

Starting point is 00:04:03 off at UCF is because you're kind of playing, you're kind of miscasting this guy on the inside a little bit. But when he got out wide, it was like a five tech, a seven tech, or a wide nine type player. I thought that the snaps looked a lot better and looked a lot cleaner. But you get to see a little bit of that versatility across the line as well. In the open field, he moves exceptionally well, has good energy and good pursuit angles too. So I think there is a lot to build. upon with this player. Like at the bare minimum, you get this player that fits the NFL mold of

Starting point is 00:04:33 6-4-250, long arms as well, very, very explosive, gives you high energy, gives you good pursuit angles, and also has flashed the ability to rush the passer with quick hands and powerful swim move and cross-chops as well. So look, when you're looking for a player to develop, every single player that you take outside of round one is going to be a developmental prospect. I think a player that brings his traits and his intangibles to the table is certainly worth the investment in a draft class like this, where there are a lot of question marks after those first 10-ish blue-chit players in the draft. So Malachi Lawrence made himself a lot of money at the NFL combine this year. And I think, honestly, his film is pretty solid as well. So when we're looking at this Colts team and how they need to just continually add youth and speed to that front seven, I think a player like Lawrence and like,

Starting point is 00:05:24 round three or so can make a ton of sense for this team. He's not going to be some day one superstar for them, but in terms of just getting another young, explosive athletic player into the rotation to come off the bench and spell some of these older players, I think he could be a pretty big asset. So as long as he is paired with, again, getting an Arnold Ebikiki and free agency,

Starting point is 00:05:45 getting a Trey Hendrickson, a Jalen Phillips, whoever that's going to be. And then you grab him in round three to be your third edge rusher that brings some speed and some juice off the bench, I think that could be a really big upgrade in this Colts defensive line room, especially given way they were coming from this past season. So Malachi Lawrence, I'm a big fan. I think in round three makes a lot of sense for the Colts.

Starting point is 00:06:06 But coming up, we're going to talk more about his overall fit with the defense. And also, again, I kind of alluded to it there, but where realistically he could go in this upcoming draft. If there is a wide range, if he's going to be there in round three, we'll discuss all that when we get back from this short break. But first, workplace chaos, deadline. are stacking up and the inbox is overflowing and the one position you have to fill is still sitting open. When the pressure is on and you need the right hire, this is a job for Indeed

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Starting point is 00:09:18 All right, guys, we are back talking all about Pass Rusher Malachi. Lawrence and his fit with the Indianapolis Colts in this upcoming draft. And I kind of mentioned it in the first segment, but let's go into a little bit more detail here. I think you could probably get him in round three. Again, the production profile isn't amazing. It kind of took him until this final year to really break out and become this all big 12 player.

Starting point is 00:09:41 But he wasn't that in his prior four years at the program. And I think some teams will look down on that. The Colts will probably look up on that because that's something that Chris Ballard does value that perseverance before the break. out in the final year or before the breakout before the draft eligible year. But I think a third round makes sense for him. He is a great height, weight speed project, but this is a pretty good edge rushing group. And I think teams are going to value players like T.J. Parker and Zion Young and maybe even

Starting point is 00:10:09 Derek Moore from Michigan, who have been more productive at bigger schools throughout their careers. I think they could get more of that value from teams. But, yeah, I think that this is the type of guy that I'd still would take in the top 100. I wouldn't wait until round four with him. But round three does seem perfect. Like that's where you get like a true developmental player with a lot of upside. And that's what I see in his game.

Starting point is 00:10:31 Now in terms of how he would be used with the Colts, I think a lot of it depends on what they do in free agency. Obviously, I don't want their only investment in the edge room to be this third round pick on Malachi Lawrence. So I think is more of a rotation player in year one. I don't want him to be a starter out the gate. I think that would be absurd to be relying on a third. third rounder to be your starter out of the gates. So I think more in that rotation, if you can get,

Starting point is 00:10:56 like I said, a Hendrickson or an Ebikidi or someone to start, get him as your third or your fourth pass rusher and let him just focus on the things he excels at right now and don't put too much on his plate in year one could be a recipe for success in his rookie season and even going forward. Because as of right now, he's got good long arms, he's got the cross chop, he's got the swim move. and I think he's a productive pass rusher that can move well in space. So that projects well to what the Colts asks from their defensive ends on third down, where occasionally they're going to be dropping into coverage. I think he can get into coverage and uses long arms to disrupt passing lanes.

Starting point is 00:11:32 They're going to use stunts. They're going to use every means necessary to get guys attacking the quarterback and adding a super athlete like this, I think would be wonderful for Colts team. They could stand him up over the A gap on some of these plays. They could get him out there in a wide. and close the edge while Latu goes to work on the other side. They could use them on stunts and twists, where the Colts were dreadful on stunts and twist last year,

Starting point is 00:11:56 but getting a player with this kind of size and explosion could make a lot of sense for them. So, yeah, I think early on, the role that you would want for him is that rotational rusher that can get out there on third downs or so, kind of like how Atatamiwa, Atabori was used at defensive tackle this past year, and just let him be that auxiliary player early on. but I do love his potential for what he could be in the future.

Starting point is 00:12:21 Like I don't think this is a guy who's going to be limited to being a rotational rush or his whole career as long as you get him on the right developmental path. You get him bulking up a little bit, adding a little bit more strength to his game and just slowly improving that run defense aspect as well. Then I think he could certainly be a starter somewhere down the line. But in year one, if you can, again, have him as a third or a fourth guy and maybe get him some passing rushing pass rush down reps here and there. some unique looks, I think he could be a major asset to this team.

Starting point is 00:12:50 So I like Malachi Lawrence a lot. Again, if this is the only investment the Colts make it defensive end, that would be a little bit disheartening. But having him be like, like I kind of said, like an auxiliary move with another big move and free agency, I think this could work wonders for this Colts team. They want to get younger. They want to get faster.

Starting point is 00:13:10 Well, Lawrence is a pretty young player who is exceptionally fast, exceptionally explosive, and offer some really good upside in his game. So it's kind of like blending the intrigue of a project player who could be something more, along with the current status quo where you want to go in this front seven. You want to get faster. And this is one of the fastest players in the draft at his position and one of the combined darlings this year. So, yeah, Malachi Lawrence is going to be on my short list of crushes for the Colts this offseason.

Starting point is 00:13:38 I think that he fits everything Luanna Rumo and the Colts want to do. And he would be an excellent fit with the Indianapolis Colts. So let me know in the comment section below what you think. about adding this talented rusher to the Colts this offseason. And thanks again for tuning in to this bonus episode of Lockdown Colts. We'll be back yet again tomorrow. So make sure you subscribe to our show. So you get all the latest episodes.

Starting point is 00:13:59 And if you don't already, make sure you're following at Lockdown Colts at Lockedon, at Jack Hicks 2, all on socials. And if you never missed that episode, then remember the Everydayer Club is built for you. Get Locked on Colts audio ad free plus members-only Discord access and much more. Head to LockdownColts.com to join the club or follow the link in our our show notes right now. We'll be back here yet again tomorrow afternoon to break down everything about tag day in the NFL.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT: Malachi Lawrence is a Young, Explosive Pass Rusher for the Indianapolis Colts

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