With the 19th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select former Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch.
Dallas entered the draft with needs to address their defense where Vander Esch could immediately be plugged into their linebacker core alongside Pro Bowler Sean Lee and third-year linebacker Jaylon Smith. He is a versatile and athletic linebacker that has great size for the position at 6-foot-4 and 256 pounds.
The 21-year-old is coming off a highly productive junior campaign where he earned the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year award and First-Team All-Conference after racking up 141 total tackles with 8.5 for loss, four sacks, four pass breakups, and four forced fumbles. In the Mountain West Championship Game MVP, he put up 16 tackles that included grabbing the game-sealing interception for Boise State.
There were some previous injury concerns given that he played in only six games due to injuries dealing with his neck in the 2016 season. The Cowboys reportedly had much interest in Vander Esch prior to the draft given their need to add more depth at linebacker after the departure of Anthony Hitchens over the offseason.
Although Lee has been a staple in the linebacker core for the Cowboys over the last several years, he has dealt with numerous injuries over the last few years. There is no certainty that he will be able to take the field for the entire year as he has yet to play all 16 regular-season games in any campaign in his first eight years in the NFL.
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