Leighton Vander Esch

Leighton Vander Esch

27-Year-Old LinebackerLB
Dallas Cowboys
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Vander Esch stayed mostly healthy in 2023 and was on pace for the second 100-tackle campaign of his career until neck issues shut him down Weeks 16-18. The 27-year-old re-signed with the Cowboys on a one year, $2 million prove-it deal, but given his lengthy injury history and the team's collection of young, athletic talent at linebacker that now includes 2023 third-round pick DeMarvion Overshown, Vander Esch seems likely to see his snap count diminish this season. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#Subscriber-Only
IDP
$Signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Cowboys in March of 2022.
Staying in Dallas
LBDallas Cowboys
March 14, 2023
Vander Esch is set to re-sign a two-year deal worth $11 million with the Cowboys, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
ANALYSIS
Vander Esch missed three games last year and 17 games over the past four seasons, but he's been a strong run defender for the Cowboys. Although he's never come close to matching the 140 tackles he had as a rookie, the 90 stops he posted in 2022 represented the second-best season of his career. Going into his age-27 season, he'll remain an anchor for the team at middle linebacker.
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NFL Stats
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2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2022 NFL Game Log
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2021 NFL Game Log
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2020 NFL Game Log
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Snap Distribution / Depth Chart
Snap Counts
Snap %
Dallas CowboysCowboys 2022 LB Snap Distribution See more data like this | See last season's snap counts
#% of Team Snaps

102081%
84267%
68354%
38431%
423%
353%
262%
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2022 Leighton Vander Esch Split Stats
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Measurables Review
How do Leighton Vander Esch's measurables compare to other linebackers?
This section compares his draft workout metrics with players at the same position. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that metric and it would be considered average.
Height
6' 4"
 
Weight
256 lbs
 
40-Yard Dash
4.65 sec
 
Shuttle Time
4.15 sec
 
Cone Drill
6.88 sec
 
Vertical Jump
39.5 in
 
Broad Jump
124 in
 
Bench Press
20 reps
 
Hand Length
9.75 in
 
Arm Length
33.88 in
 
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
While Micah Parsons emerged as the star of the Cowboys defense last season, Vander Esch was able to make a contribution in the middle by not missing a game due to injury for the first time since he was a rookie in 2018. His weekly tackle totals were way down, however, as much due to a reduced snap count as Parsons taking away his opportunities. Vander Esch's days as an IDP asset likely are behind him, but the brittle linebacker still provides some stability to the middle of the Dallas defense when he's on the field, and he's capable of double-digit tackles in a game when he's allowed to handle a significant workload.
The 19th overall pick in the 2018 Draft has had trouble staying healthy since his impressive rookie campaign, missing 13 games over the last two seasons. Vander Esch's per-game production declined in 2020 as well as he simply didn't look like the same player, either as a tackler or in coverage. He got the double whammy this offseason of having the fifth-year option on his rookie contract declined while watching the Cowboys draft his successor Micah Parsons with the 12th overall pick of this year's draft. If Vander Esch is 100 percent, he could still make an impact, but his snaps may be managed in an effort to keep him on the field, putting a cap on his IDP potential.
A neck injury all but wrecked Vander Esch's 2019, but he still projects as a top-three linebacker IDP if he can get back to the form he showed as a rookie in 2018. In fact, he's probably the only linebacker with a prayer of keeping up with top IDP Darius Leonard. While playing just 1,312 defensive snaps, Vander Esch piled up 212 tackles. Based on those numbers, we might expect Vander Esch to go over 160 tackles should he play 1,000 snaps. A lot of IDP owners might chase teammate and fellow linebacker Jaylon Smith after he posted 142 tackles last year, but it's Vander Esch who warrants the higher ranking if healthy.
Linebacker duos don't come much more established than Sean Lee and Jaylon Smith were last year, yet Vander Esch emphatically introduced himself as the Cowboys' top linebacker as a rookie, with 140 tackles on just 784 snaps. Some of those stops occurred on special teams, where he played 181 snaps (a figure that will drop in 2019), but even if last year's tackle rate is significantly lowered, Vander Esch projects for gigantic totals now that he'll have a three-down role all year. At 6-4, 256, with elite athleticism, Vander Esch might be the Brian Urlacher of this era.
The 19th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Vander Esch joins a Cowboys linebacking corps packed with talent but also fraught with uncertainty. The Boise State product has outstanding speed and athleticism for his size, giving him plenty of upside in a three-down role as he racks up tackles, handles coverage assignments and makes the occasional blitzing foray. Whether he sees a three-down role on a roster that already features oft-injured Sean Lee and third-year LB Jaylon Smith is the big question, but Dallas' initial depth chart lists the rookie as the starting middle linebacker, seemingly putting him ahead of Smith in nickel packages. There were also concerns about a possible neck issue prior to the draft, but the Cowboys presumably didn't consider him a health risk when they used a first-round pick on him. If the workload is there for Vander Esch, elite production could follow.
More Fantasy News
Puts together strong campaign
LBDallas Cowboys
January 31, 2023
Vander Esch recorded 90 tackles (54 solo), including one sack, with one pass defended and one forced fumble over 14 regular-season games in 2022.
ANALYSIS
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Full go to open playoff prep
LBDallas Cowboys
January 12, 2023
Vander Esch (neck) was a full participant during the Cowboys' practice Thursday, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Trending toward return for playoffs
LBDallas Cowboys
Neck
January 9, 2023
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said Monday that he's "very optimistic" about Vander Esch's (neck) status heading into the wild-card round of the playoffs, Patrik Walker of the team's official site reports.
ANALYSIS
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Out again
LBDallas Cowboys
Neck
January 6, 2023
Vander Esch (neck) has been ruled out for Sunday's matchup against the Commanders.
ANALYSIS
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Officially ruled out
LBDallas Cowboys
Neck
December 28, 2022
Vander Esch (neck) has been ruled out for Thursday's matchup against the Titans, Jane Slater of NFL Network reports.
ANALYSIS
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