Dexter Lawrence

Dexter "Sexy Dexy" Lawrence II (born November 12, 1997) is an American football nose tackle for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson. In 2015, he concluded his high school football career at Wake Forest High School in Wake Forest. He was ranked as the No. 2 recruit in college football's incoming Class of 2016.

Early years
Lawrence played his entire high school career at Wake Forest High School. In his junior year, Wake Forest had a 15–1 record, losing only the 4A State Championship game against a Mallard Creek team that included Nafees Lyon and Thaddeus Moss. During his high school career, Lawrence was credited with 28.0 sacks, 204 tackles, 6 forced fumbles and 1 interception.

Lawrence was seen as the best prospect to ever come out of the state of North Carolina. He considered multiple schools, including Clemson Tigers, Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, Alabama Crimson Tide and NC State Wolfpack. In the end, he signed with Clemson.

College career
In 2016, Lawrence played in 12 games for the Tigers at defensive tackle. Throughout the regular season, he recorded 55 tackles and 5 sacks. The 5 sacks he recorded in his freshman year is a Clemson record. Lawrence beat the previous record of 4 set by William Perry, Ricky Sapp, and Shaq Lawson. Lawrence was subsequently named the 2016 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year. Lawrence was part of the Clemson team that defeated Alabama in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship by a score of 35–31. In the game, he recorded four total tackles. Dexter was ruled ineligible for the 2019 College Football Playoff after testing positive for the banned substance ostarine. After the season, Lawrence decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2019 NFL draft.

Professional career
Lawrence injured his left leg during his attempt at the 40-yard dash during the 2019 NFL Combine. Lawrence was selected by the New York Giants with the 17th overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft. The Giants originally acquired the selection as part of a trade that sent Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns.

In Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Lawrence recorded his first career sack on Jameis Winston in the 32-31 win. In Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings, Lawrence recorded a sack and a forced fumble on Kirk Cousins in the 28-10 loss.

In Week 1 of the 2020 season against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football, Lawrence recorded his first sack of the season on Ben Roethlisberger during the 26–16 loss.

During Week 2 of the 2021 season against the Washington Football Team, Lawrence jumped offsides on the final play of the 4th quarter, a Dustin Hopkins missed field goal, which nullified the Washington kick attempt. The Giants would lose 29–30 on Hopkins' successful re-kick, dropping to 0–2 for the fifth consecutive season.

On April 28, 2022, the Giants picked up the fifth-year option on Lawrence’s rookie contract.

2022 was a career year for Lawrence. In Week 4, he tallied 2 sacks against the Chicago Bears, the first multi-sack game of his career, then earned praise from Aaron Rodgers following their comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers a week later. In a Week 15 tilt against the Washington Commanders, he forced an incomplete pass from Taylor Heinicke that turned out to be a key forced fumble which the Giants recovered. The Giants made the playoffs in 2022 for the first time in his career. He finished the 2022 season with 7.5 sacks, 68 tackles, 28 quarterback hits and 2 forced fumbles. As well as being selected to his first Pro Bowl and first All-Pro team.

On May 4, 2023, Lawrence signed a four-year extension with the Giants.

In Week 8 of the 2023 New York Giants season, Lawrence had a recorded a sack, a tackle-for-loss, 5 quarterback hits, and 15 quarterback pressures against the New York Jets, which tied the record for the most pressures in a single game by an interior defender.