IRVING, Texas -- "I'm quick, I'm vicious ... I'm ruthless," DeMarcus Lawrence said on Draft Night. "I'm just gonna try to kill you, really."
And now the Dallas Cowboys' rookie defensive end is not only quick, vicious and ruthless ... he's also signed.
In the second round of the draft, Dallas -- admitting a desperate need for a right (pass-rush) defensive end -- bent toward need. Trading their second- and third-round picks (Dallas shipped rival Washington the No. 47 and No. 78 overall picks to move up 13 spots) was pricy.
"We had to give a little more than the (trade-value) charts read out because we didn't want to lose him," Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said of the 6-3, 251-pound Lawrence, who in two seasons at Boise State recorded 20 sacks and 34 tackles for losses. "We had to sweeten that pot a little bit."
And now Lawrence is paid himself, with a four-year rookie contract likely worth in the range of a $5.5 million total. With first-round offensive lineman Zack Martin having signed earlier this week, all of Dallas' picks are under contract.
