Notebook: How Dexter Lawrence stays motivated

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Dexter Lawrence keeps it real by pretending to be someone he’s not.

Now that the Rams’ Aaron Donald has retired, Lawrence might well be the NFL’s best defensive lineman. A first-round draft choice in 2019, he has been a Pro Bowler and a second-team all-pro in each of the last two seasons. Last year, he signed a multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract befitting a player of his stature.

But that all means nothing to Lawrence when he is on the field, whether in practice or during a game. He is the player every other Giants lineman wants to line up next to.

“I compete like I’m not a top player,” Lawrence said after Friday’s training camp practice. “I think I compete like I was the seventh rounder. I compete like I didn’t get paid. That’s just my mindset, and I think that’s where the respect comes from. They can see that, and they can see how hard I work. I think that’s the biggest thing for everyone.”

The biggest thing might be Lawrence himself. He is listed as 6-4 and 340 pounds but is fast, quick and extraordinarily athletic for his size. One of those teammates, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, is a 10-year veteran who is beginning his second season with the Giants. The man everyone calls Nacho is 6-2 and 305 pounds.

“I’m telling you, God must have blinked when he was making me, but he had everybody in the lab with Dex,” Nunez-Roches said. “Extra on the arms, extra on the legs. Don’t forget the speed. Super powerful. Then he’s extra big. Come on, that’s what I’m playing with. It’s just crazy. I take off running, he’s running right beside me. I’m like, there’s no way, there’s no way.”

Lawrence missed one practice this week and was limited in another with what he called, “a little virus I caught.” It was barely a blip on his drive to greatness. He has been a dominant player, yet Lawrence’s goal remains constant improvement.

“I think that comes from within and watching yourself and seeing things that you can improve on,” he said. “Never a perfect player out there, so I’m hard on myself. Every day I come out here and I mess up on a little thing, and I write it down, and I correct it the next day, just so I’m making a new mistake everyday type of thing. That’s kind of my thought process.”

Asked for something specific he needed to write down, Lawrence said, “not necessarily messed up. It’s more of a technique thing, like getting in a good stance and running off the ball, mentally having that in my head a lot because that’s what makes me successful.”

Lawrence is entering his sixth Giants season. With the offseason departures of Saquon Barkley and Sterling Shepard, he joins Daniel Jones and Darius Slayton – fellow members of the 2019 draft class – as the longest-tenured Giants. Lawrence doesn’t seek the spotlight, but his ability, his accolades, and the team and league-wide respect for his accomplishments (he will certainly be selected a team captain for the third consecutive season) make him one of the faces of the Giants franchise as it enters its 100^th season.

“Funny thing is, I was in college (at Clemson), I didn’t really know what it meant,” he said. “But I always said I wanted to be a household name in college. You get what you ask for, and I take that with pride. I’d rather be this way than the other way. That’s why I try to set the example. I’m not a real verbal guy, but I lead by actions. That’s just my biggest thing.”

For the last 10 seasons, Donald, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, was universally acclaimed as the league’s top defensive tackle. With Donald no longer playing, should Lawrence assume that title?

“I wish I thought like that,” Lawrence said. “I’m more of a ‘I got to do what I got to do’ and then whatever I do is going to prove whether it’s worth it or not.

“You’ve got to keep earning that respect, and I think that’s what legends do. At this point, I want to keep earning those respects, and keep having people feel my dominance and see the type of player I am.”