Cal Bears NFL Draft Profile: Wide Receiver Kenny Lawler

Cal Bears‘ wide receiver Kenny Lawler is a highly-touted draft prospect, but he has some fairly significant knocks against him.

As the 2016 NFL Draft approaches, Golden Gate Sports will profile some of the California Golden Bears’ potential draft picks. Everyone knows about quarterback Jared Goff, who declared for the draft a year early and will almost certainly be one of the first few players off the board when the 81st annual draft kicks off on April 28th. But the Bears, who finished 8-5 this past season and beat Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl, have other intriguing prospects. The second profiled here is wide receiver Kenny Lawler.

Lawler, the Pomona, California-product, stands a tall 6’3″, but is rather skinny at under 200 pounds. Coming out of Upland High School in Upland, California, Lawler was a four-star recruit (by ESPN, Prepstar, Rivals, and Scout), catching 95 passes for 2,154 yards and 21 touchdowns between his junior and senior seasons. He committed to Arizona State in February of 2011, but withdrew his initial commitment after an official visit in November that year. Lawler turned down offers from Michigan State and Oklahoma State, choosing instead to become a Golden Bear.

Lawler redshirted in 2012, and began his playing career in 2013, along with his freshman quarterback Goff. The relationship between the two was a little slow to development, but they eventually formed a rapport that made them an extremely dangerous duo. In 2013, when Cal would go 1-11, Lawler caught 37 passes for 347 yards and five touchdowns, with all the scores coming within a two-week span. On October 2nd, the wide receiver grabbed six passes for 72 yards, and tied a school record with three touchdowns against Arizona. The next week against USC, Lawler caught two more touchdowns amidst his six catches.

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In his sophomore season, Lawler caught 54 passes worth 701 yards and nine touchdowns, leading the Bears in all three categories. In the final game of the season against Brigham Young, Lawler caught 12 passes for 138 yards, setting career highs in both, and three touchdowns, again matching the school’s record.

Lawler’s junior season saw a little dip in production, but with an offense that spread the ball around as much as Cal, that’s not too surprising or concerning. He still caught 52 passes to lead the team, and totaled 658 yards, third on the team. His 13 touchdowns was second in the Pac-12 behind Washington State’s Gabe Marks, and tied for the second-most in school history behind Sean Dawkins, who caught 14 in 1992. Twice Lawler caught three touchdowns in a game, including against Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.

After the Bears’ first Bowl win since 2008, Lawler joined his quarterback in declaring a year early. That was a smart move for Lawler, as his stock likely wouldn’t rise while he works to build a rapport with a new quarterback. By declaring after his junior year, Lawler is striking the iron while it’s hot.

Lawler finished his three-year career at Cal with 143 catches (12th in school history), 1,706 yards (18th), and 27 touchdowns (second, also to Dawkins), and he caught at least one pass in all 34 games he played.