The Buffalo Bills have used the No. 19 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft to select Clemson DE/OLB Shaq Lawson. Watching the Denver Broncos for even a short time last season made it absolutely clear that no team in the league can have too many players to rush the passer, and Lawson is one of the best in this year's draft class to do it.
Shaq Lawson taken by Bills at No. 19 overall
The Bills landed Lawson, adding to what was already a strong defense.
In fact, this isn’t a great class overall, but Lawson is a gifted player who would stand out even in a crowded field of pass-rushing talent. The Clemson edge rusher was a four-star prospect out of D.W. Daniel High School in Central, South Carolina. He spent a year at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia, because he didn’t qualify for Clemson academically.
A big reason Lawson wanted to play with Clemson was its close proximity to his home, the decision being made shortly after his father was killed in a car accident during his senior season in high school. He originally intended to join Tennessee.
“I know God does everything for a reason, so I was just waiting my turn and just waiting for my opportunity to get (to Clemson) ... and the loss of my dad just changed the way I act as a person,” Lawson said, via Fox Sports. “Going to military school just made me better as a man and had me ready for what Clemson had for me.”
But when he joined Clemson in 2013, he played in all 13 games and finished the season with 9.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. He was not a starter, but earned second-team freshman All-American honors and tied a Clemson record for sacks for a first-year freshman. His next season, he had 3.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss, but was once again not a starter in 13 games played.
Lawson got a chance to start this past season though, and he made the most of it in the wake of Vic Beasley’s departure to the NFL.
“I was waiting for my time when Vic left, just waiting and grinding for it since I got to Clemson,” Lawson said. “I knew I had to take advantage of it when my time was there my junior year. There was some goals I wanted to set: become an All-American, lead my team to a national championship. That’s what I was thinking in my head every day when I got up and got to working.”
He broke out big time, starting all 13 games for the Tigers, putting up 24.5 tackles for loss, which led the nation. He had 12.5 sacks, the most in the ACC and fifth-highest in the nation. The Tigers nearly reached the goal Lawson had in mind for them, but they fell, 45-40, to the Alabama Crimson Tide and fell short of a national championship.
Lawson declared for the NFL Draft shortly after the season. He had 45.5 tackles for loss and 20 sacks in his college career. Lawson was frequently regarded as one of the best edge rushing prospects leading up to the draft, and performed well at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, posting a 40-yard dash of 4.7 seconds, a vertical jump of 33'' and a broad jump of 120".
According to Adam Schefter, Lawson will need to have shoulder surgery that will sideline him for four to six months sometime in the fairly near future, though his sources say it will likely be “after next season.”
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