This former BSU star ‘will knock your lights out.’ He’s been named one of NFL’s best
Though he’s been an NFL player for only one season, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch already has put his peers on notice.
The former Boise State star was ranked the No. 74 player in the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2019 on Wednesday, as voted on by current players. Vander Esch, entering his second year with the Cowboys, was third in the NFL in 2018 with 140 total tackles; he was named second-team All Pro by The Associated Press and was selected to the Pro Bowl. He started 11 of the team’s 16 games and helped lead the Cowboys to the playoffs.
The NFL’s Top 100 Players has been released annually on the NFL Network since 2011. Players ranked Nos. 100-71 for 2019 have been announced so far.
In the episode including Vander Esch, former Boise State teammate and NFL running back Jay Ajayi described the first time he noticed Vander Esch at practice — when he tackled Ajayi despite being told not to.
“I ran and broke a run in practice and this scout team kid tackles me out of nowhere. I’m like looking at my coach like, what the hell is wrong with this kid? Who is this guy?” Ajayi said. “It’s crazy to see that walk-on kid, see him blossom to what he is now.”
Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly, an All-Pro in his own right, said Vander Esch’s skill set has allowed him to hit the ground running in the NFL.
“When you’re coming in the league, and you play hard and you’ve got good range, you can make a lot of plays,” Kuechly said.
Defensive tackle Mike Daniels, most recently of the Green Bay Packers, spoke of Vander Esch’s bone-crushing tackles.
“Leighton will knock your lights out,” Daniels said, before correcting himself. “Let me rephrase that, because that’s a fine nowadays. Leighton will hit you extremely hard.”
A pair of plays involving Vander Esch were highlighted during the segment. The first was a goal-line play against the Houston Texas where he was a fraction of a second late to a ball carrier on a sweep play, resulting in a touchdown. A few weeks later, the Philadelphia Eagles attempted a similar play in an effort to exploit Vander Esch; it resulted in a tackle for loss rather than a touchdown.
“A lot of it is studying and knowing what’s coming, but a lot of it is instinct, too,” Vander Esch said. “Just learn from your mistakes, learn how you can get better in certain situations.”
Former Boise State and current Cowboys defensive lineman DeMarcus Lawrence made the 2018 list, ranking No. 34, and likely will make this year’s list as well.
The Cowboys selected Vander Esch, a Riggins native who walked on at Boise State, with the 19th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft following his breakout redshirt junior season with the Broncos. Vander Esch was named the 2017 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year after collecting 141 total tackles, 8.5 of those for a loss. He led the Broncos to the Mountain West Conference title and a Las Vegas Bowl win over Oregon.
This story was originally published July 25, 2019 at 2:49 PM.