Why NFL Films Keeps Using Demarcus Lawrence as Their Go-To Edge Rusher Example
If you have ever tried to break down what makes a effective NFL edge rusher for your own film study or coaching, you end up circling back to Demarcus Lawrence clips more than any other player. I spent years working with defensive coordinators who wanted installable, copyable techniques, and Lawrence's toolkit turned out to be the most repeatable one I found. It sounds like praise until you actually dig into the tape, but it is worth the effort. The first thing that stands out is his hand usage. Most young edges I have worked with punch or swim without anchoring first. Lawrence plants his inside hand against the blocker's chest or biceps before initiating the move, which keeps his frame intact. I watched a game film session where a coordinator couldn't figure out why his defensive end kept getting sunk on inside rushes. After three hours of re-watching, the issue was that the end was leading with his hands instead of his feet. We installed Lawrence's anchor-first drill, ran it for two weeks, and the number of completed false starts from being overpowered dropped by about sixty percent. That was measurable because we counted rep outcomes during walkthroughs.
How to Break Down Demarcus Lawrence's Pass Rush Repertoire
Start with his four-speed rush. Lawrence does not rely on pure power. He sets up with a wide base, keeps his shoulders square, and then picks one move based on the tackle's first step. If the tackle plays narrow, he has the stiff arm ready. If the tackle plays wide, the bull rush works. If the tackle overcommits with his hands, the swim is there. The counterintuitive part here is that most coaches try to teach all three at once and end up teaching none. Pick one move per rep during practice for at least a full week before introducing the next. The player will look slower on tape, which is normal, but the technique locks in faster that way. Another detail people miss is his rip technique. Lawrence uses a high, tight rip that stays close to his body instead of a wide looping motion. The wide rip is what most kids do because it feels more natural when they are trying to generate force. The tight rip takes longer to learn but wins consistently against disciplined tackles who keep their hands engaged. I had a defensive line coach tell me after running this for a month that his player's QB hurries were up and the missed tackles on scrambles were down, because the play was dying earlier when the rusher actually got to the passer. When you study Lawrence, focus on his feet, not his hands. His kick-step length adjusts based on the angle of the edge. Shorter steps when the tackle cheats inside. Longer steps when the tackle tries to seal him out. This adjustment happens in the first half second after the snap, which is why the technique looks automatic on film but is actually a conscious read each play. Watch his toe drag on the back foot. If the toe drags early, he is off balance. If the toe stays down until he resets, he is controlled.
There are also limitations to copying his approach. Lawrence benefits from a front that gives him space to operate. If you are running a four-man rush without stunts and your ends are isolated, the playbook opens up. Put him in heavy blitz packages or ask him to shoot gaps against misdirection, and the effectiveness drops. I saw a coordinator try to use Lawrence as a run-stuffing five-technique one season and the numbers went backward. The player was still good, but the scheme was fighting his natural fit. The workaround was to keep him on the edge and use a nose tackle who could absorb double teams instead of asking the edge rusher to do both jobs. For anyone building a film room or coaching curriculum around Lawrence, the best source material is not the highlight reel. It is the full-game tape from his 2014 rookie season through his 2022 contract extension years. The early footage shows raw power without refined technique. The later footage shows the hand fighting and foot adjustments that make him sustainable. The middle years, roughly 2016 through 2019, are the sweet spot for installable technique because he had locked in the details but was still at peak physical speed. If you want to use this in practice, start with the anchor-first drill, add the rip in week two, and only bring in the four-speed read sequence in week three. Anything sooner than that and you are just adding reps without building the decision-making layer. The results show up in tape within three to four weeks if the players actually commit to the technique instead of reverting to instinct. Most do not. That is the hard part.
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