Few rookies had the type of impact that Leighton Vander Esch had on the Dallas defense in 2018. The Boise State product racked up 140 combined tackles and received the Bob Lilly Award and a Pro Bowl nod in his first season of professional football.

Now, its time to deliver.

The 23-year-old linebacker understands that there is a lot of pressure for the Cowboys to make a serious playoff run in 2019, and he's confident his defense is capable of doing so.

“I'm really looking forward to seeing what we can do even further and more this coming season,” Vander Esch told Ian Rapoport on his podcast. “I mean, we have all of our dudes in the facility — watching film, having meetings, working out, training, everything — everyone's getting better. I know in our minds and from listening to the coaches, we realize when we have ideas and images set of what we can really truly be this year, now that we have kind of a stone-set place from last year, we can really take it to the next level now.”

Aiding that unit, the Cowboys used their first draft pick to take former UCF defensive tackle Trysten Hill in the second round, and while Vander Esch hasn't spent much time “scouting” him, he's excited to see what he can bring to this defense.

“I've watched him a little bit, mostly just some of his highlights through the draft process but I mean, he seems like he's a heck of a football player,” said Vander Esch.

Dallas made it to the Divisional Round of the NFC Playoffs a year ago, a 30-22 loss to the Rams.