re: Auburn in the NFL

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Guenther recalls speaking with Lawson during the process and asking who are his top five pass rushers. Many prospects won’t have an answer. Not only did Lawson rattle off his five, but he continued by rattling off his moves and counter-moves not long after.

“I think my biggest asset is I can do everything,” Lawson said. “If you want speed, you got speed. If you want power, you got power. That’s what the best in the league have. If you want finesse, you got finesse. That is all three I have in my game.”

Whether a spin move or speed-to-power toss made famous by Reggie White or straight bending the edge, he's shown them all off. Advanced moves from a rookie on this level open eyes of evaluaters.

"You don’t see that a lot from young rushers," said ESPN football analyst Matt Bowen. "What do young rushers do? They want to use their speed around the edge and try to turn the corner, right? That’s what they did in college. They’re better than everybody else. That’s why they’re NFL players. They can win on talent alone. You can’t do that in the NFL. You cannot. So, I think he’s pretty advanced. I think that’s a steal of a pick. He’s unique."

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He spent time learning linebacker in the preseason, but is employed solely as an edge rusher in the nickel. The remarkable aspect of Lawson’s dominant early run is the Bengals have only played one team which likes to drop back and throw a ton. In that game against Green Bay, Lawson terrorized a beat up Packers offensive line with 2.5 sacks.

Four games in, this isn’t about a small sample size against ragged competition.

In the third preseason game, he beat five-time Washington Pro Bowler Trent Williams. Last week, he faced his most prominent test against future Hall of Famer Thomas and not only had success, he broke his two front teeth off on the back of the quarterback in the fourth quarter. The Browns were even chipping with running backs to help Thomas out against the rookie.

“We don’t normally see that type of stuff,” Guenther said.

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