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Auburn defensive lineman Carl Lawson (55) and Auburn defensive tackle Montravius Adams (1) celebrate a sack on Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason (10) Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, during the first half at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

Montravius Adams and Carl Lawson have competed with each other for the better part of the last five years and the former Auburn defensive linemen will continue to do so for at least one more weekend.

Lawson and Adams will both hear their names called during this weekend's NFL draft, with some prognosticators projecting the edge rusher as a late first-round pick while others are high on the interior defender.

The two bedrocks of Gus Malzahn's first recruiting class at Auburn in 2013, Lawson and Adams were each heralded prospects from Georgia who competed together at the Under Armour All-American game and now will enter their professional careers at the same time.

"It's very helpful, especially we came in together from eleventh grade to now," said Adams, who had 44 tackles with 8.5 for loss including 4.5 sacks last season. "Having that experience together and always being together, we always help each other. He's competitive with me, I'm competitive with him and when he's not doing stuff, like (at pro day) he wasn't doing the 40 but I did, is he's always critiquing me just helping me with the little things so both of us can be that much better. I just love him for that."

Projections have varied in recent weeks for Lawson, who led all defensive linemen at the NFL Combine in the bench press (35 reps) and 20-yard shuttle (4.19 seconds).

Some projections have the defensive end/outside linebacker as a potential late first-round pick, possibly to the Atlanta Falcons, while others are less high on Lawson due to his injury history and other measurables.

Auburn edge defender Carl Lawson has the skills to make an immediate impact as a pass rusher, but has work to do in run defense. pic.twitter.com/xga3eOXGkr — PFF College (@PFF_College) April 25, 2017

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. believes Adams will go before Lawson, who he thinks could be a third or fourth-round pick.

Lawson believes he's "easily" a first-round talent but wasn't getting caught up in the mock drafts and projections.

"The main thing that I take is that everybody has a different opinion on you," said Lawson, who had 30 tackles with team-highs in tackles for loss (13.5) and sacks (nine) last season. "Not everybody is always going to be in your corner, but there's some people who are going to be in your corner. At the same time, I don't know who is, so that's the main thing I've taken from it. I just want to be able to put my best foot forward all the time."

Auburn could see several other players drafted this weekend, though they'll likely have to wait until rounds 4-7 on Saturday.

Rudy Ford is in that mix and would check a lot of boxes for a team looking for a versatile defensive back that can contribute in a variety of special teams roles.

For a team willing to take on the injury history, Josh Holsey showed his twice-torn anterior cruciate ligament could not keep him from being productive.

Offensive linemen Alex Kozan and Robert Leff and wide receivers Tony Stevens and Marcus Davis are all possible late-round or priority free agents as well.

"We've got a lot of NFL players in this group too that are going to be very successful," Malzahn said. "But really the most important thing is they're going to be successful in life. All these guys have great character and I'm real proud in them."