Auburn DE Carl Lawson declares for NFL Draft

The Auburn Tigers will lose a key piece this offseason, as star defensive end Carl Lawson is headed to the NFL.

Auburn Tigers defensive end Carl Lawson announced he will forgo his senior season and enter the 2017 NFL Draft  on Wednesday afternoon.

The news shouldn’t come as a surprise to Gus Malzahn and company, as Lawson is a first-round talent and was terrific in 2016. Lawson was the top player on a strong Auburn defense and racked up 9.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss this season as a fourth-year junior.

A five-star recruit out of Georgia, Lawson began his college career with expectations of developing into the best edge rusher in the nation. Lawson initially lived up to the hype by earning Freshman All-American honors in 2013, helping the Tigers reach the BCS National Championship Game.

Unfortunately, much of Lawson’s time at Auburn was marred by injuries. Lawson missed the entire 2014 season with a torn ACL and was limited to just one sack in five appearances the next year while dealing with hip injuries.

That could have tanked Lawson’s NFL prospects, but he was able to recover with a terrific season as a pass rusher in 2016. Lawson is expected to go in the late first or early second round of the 2017 draft, and likely would not have been able to improve his stock by staying another year and risking another injury.

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At 6-2 and 253 pounds, Lawson has the prototypical blend of size and explosiveness that NFL teams covet in edge rushers. If he can stay healthy, Lawson has the upside to be a steal at the end of the first round, with the Pittsburgh Steelers or Atlanta Falcons standing out as potential fits.