WATCH: Former Auburn star Carl Lawson notches first NFL sack

Carl Lawson made a name for himself at Auburn by making life miserable for opposing quarterbacks.

And that’s why the Cincinnati Bengals elected to spend a fourth-round pick on him in this year’s NFL draft. In a preseason game against the Washington Redskins on Sunday, Lawson’s ability was on display.

Lawson beat Washington offensive tackle Trent Williams off the edge, dropping Kirk Cousins for an 8-yard loss in the first quarter.

A 5-star signee in Auburn’s 2013 class, Lawson finished his college career with 67 total tackles (24 for loss) and 14 sacks. And he saved his best for last, as his final season with the Tigers saw him collect 34 tackles (13.5 for loss) and nine sacks.

For those efforts, Lawson earned numerous accolades, being named All-SEC first-team by the league’s coaches, All-SEC second-team by the Associated Press and winning Auburn’s defensive MVP award at the team’s end-of-the-year banquet. The Football Writers Association of America also selected Lawson to their All-America first-team.

Oh it’s me Carl Lawson @johnowning pic.twitter.com/C1CDrYW2MX

— Codiki (@codiki) August 27, 2017

Ryan Black

Ryan Black covers Georgia football for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @RyanABlack.