Dallas did a deal with pass rusher Demarcus Lawrence yesterday. He'd said he wouldn't play under the franchise tag again, and now he won't have to. Dallas gave him $105 million over the next five years with $65 million in guarantees. It's a sweet deal, for one of the league's more consistent pass rushers.
The last two years Lawrence has had 14.5 and 10.5 sacks, making him one of just eight players to double-digit sacks in each of the last two seasons. There have been 40 total 10-sack seasons in those years, and a lot fewer with at least 14 sacks. Just nine guys have done it.
| 10-SACK SEASONS, 2017-2018 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pos | Player | Sacks |
| 2018 | DE | Aaron Donald, LAR | 20.5 |
| 2017 | OLB | Chandler Jones, Ariz. | 17.0 |
| 2018 | DE | J.J. Watt, Hou. | 16.0 |
| 2018 | DE | Chris Jones, K.C. | 15.5 |
| 2017 | DE | Calais Campbell, Jac. | 14.5 |
| 2018 | DE | Danielle Hunter, Minn. | 14.5 |
| 2017 | DE | Demarcus Lawrence, Dall. | 14.5 |
| 2018 | OLB | Von Miller, Den. | 14.5 |
| 2018 | DE | Frank Clark, Sea. | 14.0 |
| 2018 | DE | Myles Garrett, Clev. | 13.5 |
| 2017 | DE | Cameron Jordan, N.O. | 13.0 |
| 2018 | DE | Chandler Jones, Ariz. | 13.0 |
| 2018 | OLB | Dee Ford, K.C. | 13.0 |
| 2017 | DE | Everson Griffen, Minn. | 13.0 |
| 2018 | OLB | Ryan Kerrigan, Wash. | 13.0 |
| 2017 | OLB | Ryan Kerrigan, Wash. | 13.0 |
| 2018 | OLB | T.J. Watt, Pitt. | 13.0 |
| 2018 | DE | Jason Pierre-Paul, T.B. | 12.5 |
| 2017 | DE | Joey Bosa, LAC | 12.5 |
| 2018 | OLB | Khalil Mack, Chi. | 12.5 |
| 2018 | OLB | Bradley Chubb, Den. | 12.0 |
| 2017 | DE | Cameron Heyward, Pitt. | 12.0 |
| 2018 | DE | Cameron Jordan, N.O. | 12.0 |
| 2018 | DT | DeForest Buckner, S.F. | 12.0 |
| 2017 | DE | Ezekiel Ansah, Det. | 12.0 |
| 2017 | DE | Yannick Ngakoue, Jac. | 12.0 |
| 2017 | DE | Aaron Donald, LAR | 11.0 |
| 2017 | DE | Julius Peppers, Car. | 11.0 |
| 2017 | DE | Mario Addison, Car. | 11.0 |
| 2017 | OLB | Terrell Suggs, Balt. | 11.0 |
| 2017 | DE | Cameron Wake, Mia. | 10.5 |
| 2018 | DE | Calais Campbell, Jac. | 10.5 |
| 2018 | DE | Demarcus Lawrence, Dall. | 10.5 |
| 2018 | DT | Fletcher Cox, Phil. | 10.5 |
| 2018 | DT | Jarran Reed, Sea. | 10.5 |
| 2017 | DE | Khalil Mack, Oak. | 10.5 |
| 2018 | LB | Kyler Fackrell, G.B. | 10.5 |
| 2017 | OLB | Melvin Ingram, LAC | 10.5 |
| 2018 | DT | Geno Atkins, Cin. | 10.0 |
| 2017 | OLB | Von Miller, Den. | 10.0 |
As a team, Dallas has ranked a mediocre 15th and 16th in sacks the last two seasons. But go back to before Lawrence had emerged as a key part of the defense, the 2013-2015 seasons, and Dallas ranked 25th or worse in sacks three years in a row. So they're still not great, but they're a lot better.
I'm not promising Dallas will have a top-10 fantasy defense. They don't get enough takeaways; it's been five years since they ranked higher than 16th. That's resulted in them ranking no higher than 14th (1 point for sacks, 2 for takeaways, 6 for touchdowns) five years in a row. But locking up Lawrence is at least a step in the right direction.
--Andy Richardson