Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Watch: 2017 Pass Rusher Preview

Carl Lawson EDGE, Auburn

Strengths

• Explosive, Violent Playing Style, has a knack for delivering jarring, highlight reel hits
• High Level of Pass Rush Creativity, variety of “go-to” moves to keep blockers off balance
• Violent hand usage
• High motor and relentless pass rusher
• + Bull Rush and Speed-to-Power conversion
• Solid run defender, shows the ability to stack and shed in the run game and set the EDGE
• Plays with fantastic leverage, partially due to his shorter stature, similar height/weight/build to James Harrison

Weaknesses

• Vast injury history/durability concerns
• Needs to learn to finish plays, misses a lot of tackles on potential sacks

Highlight

Fit

Carl Lawson is a player I am extremely high on. In fact, I sent him to Pittsburgh in my most recent Steelers Mock Draft.

After missing significant chunks of time due to recurring injuries, Lawson has seemed to find his groove in 2016. At this point in the season, Lawson has managed to accumulate 8.5 sacks, and has regained his reputation as one of the nation’s most prolific pass rushers.

Lawson is such a violent and explosive player, and his playing style is one that would quickly earn the love of Steeler Nation. As I briefly noted above, my first impression of Lawson was that his playing style is similar to James Harrison.

Both posses strong builds that would make body builders jealous, and have less than ideal height and weight for the position.

However, similar to Harrison, Lawson uses his shorter height to his advantage, as he maintains low leverage while rushing the passer.

Next: Pittsburgh Steelers Mock NFL Draft: Bye Week Edition

At this point, Lawson would be my ideal selection for Pittsburgh, as he would certainly help rejuvenate the Steelers pass rush and help bring back the days of watching dominant Steelers defenses.