The Dallas Cowboys selected Boise St. linebacker Leighton Vander Esch with the 19th overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft and there are a lot of emotions and reactions surrounding the pick.
The newest Dallas Cowboys' linebacker only has 10,000 followers, I'm sure Cowboys Nation can change that. Make sure you go and follow LVE and show him the LoVE.
Right out of the gate, gotta give you the reaction from inside AT&T Stadium from Inside The Star Staff Writer Sean Martin, who is there covering the draft on location for you, Cowboys Nation.
The @dallascowboys draft Boise State Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch with the 19th overall pick in the 2018 #NFLDraft. pic.twitter.com/rwuLba0qMC
— Sean Martin ✭ (@SeanMartinNFL) April 27, 2018
More video from the selection. This from the Mountain West Conference's Twitter account.
.@BroncoSportsFB's @VanderEsch38 was selected 19th in the #NFLDraft by the @DallasCowboys, becoming the second #MWFB player to come off the board in the first 20 picks. #LeightonVanderEsch pic.twitter.com/Npg21a4FGJ
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) April 27, 2018
The radio home for the Dallas Cowboys, 105.3 The Fan, had the newest Dallas Cowboy on the phone just a few minutes ago.
RIGHT NOW on @1053TheFan — Leighton Vander Esch, "I want everyone to know that my heart and soul is poured into playing in Dallas" #DallasCowboys #NFLDraft
— 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗬 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 (@TommySledge) April 27, 2018
Vander Esch had a tremendous 2017 season, his first season as a full-time starter for the Broncos.
The Dallas Cowboys use the 19th overall pick on Boise State LB Leighton Vander Esch. The Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year had 141 tackles last season
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) April 27, 2018
Count NDTScouting's Jonah Tuls as a Leighton Vander Esch believer. Jonah had the new Dallas Cowboys linebacker ranked 18th overall on his big board.
Go ahead Cowboys nation. Throw up. I personally think Leighton Vander Esch has All Pro potential. Have thought that since January. I think it's a good pick because I believe in the player.
— Jonah Tuls (@JonahTuls) April 27, 2018
And Jonah looks to provide reassurance.
I'm going to have article out on @NDTScoutingLLC tonight about Leighton Vander Esch to DAL and why I am a FAN of the pick. I LOVE the player… which is why I have faith in the selection. Don't jump off the ledge, Cowboys fans.
— Jonah Tuls (@JonahTuls) April 27, 2018
More positive vibes on LVE from Draft Twitter.
Cowboys got their target in Leighton Vander Esch. Smith, Lee and LVE is a great trio at linebacker for Dallas. pic.twitter.com/eF8qQFl8Au
— Ryan McCrystal (@Ryan_McCrystal) April 27, 2018
Jon Machota always gives us some good videos of players during training camp, but here's a good one of Leighton Vander Esch.
Leighton Vander Esch pic.twitter.com/ZPlBLjbRz8
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) April 27, 2018
Highlights don't always tell the whole story, but they are fun to watch and LVE has a pretty good highlight reel.
BleacherReport: Cowboys select LB Leighton Vander Esch with the No. 19 pick pic.twitter.com/iabMkDcmuc ▶️ https://t.co/qwq5GEXwQp
— BETFAST.COM (@BetFastcom) April 27, 2018
An interesting little nugget about Leighton Vander Esch's football beginnings that aren't typical for a first round pick.
https://twitter.com/drewdavison/status/989697220621500422
It seems that the general feeling is that 19 might have been too high for Leighton Vander Esch.
It's not that Leighton Vander Esch is a bad player. It's that there are seemingly other values that were better at #19.
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) April 27, 2018
Kevin Turner, from 105.3 The Fan doesn't hate Vander Esch, just wishes they would have gone a different direction.
Leighton Vander Esch isn't a bad player
Harold Landry is a very good player
— Kevin Turner (@ktfuntweets) April 27, 2018
Boise State University has always been a favorite for the Dallas Cowboys and Leighton Vander Esch is the highest drafted Bronco of the Cowboys selections.
Leighton Vander Esch is the fourth Boise State player drafted by the Cowboys since 2008. Scandrick played 10 seasons with the team. Tyrone Crawford has been a solid starter. DeMarcus Lawrence is a Pro Bowler. #cowboyswire
— Rob Phillips (@robphillips3) April 27, 2018
And tied for the second highest Boise State selection in the school's history.
#LVEtoNFL: Leighton Vander Esch goes 19th overall. He's tied for the 2nd highest #NFLDraft pick in #BoiseState history. Tied for top defensive pick.
Six years Tonight in
ago… Dallas… pic.twitter.com/80PKphIJH6— Jay Tust (@KTVBSportsGuy) April 27, 2018
Some of the reasons why the Dallas Cowboys might have gone the linebacker route early could have been a couple early season results from the 2017 season. They had 30 point losses to the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Rams when both Anthony Hitchens and Sean Lee were on the sideline.
One thing that was evident last year is that when Dallas was down their top two LBs their defense was awful.
When one of them was available they were good. When both were available, they were great. They solidified their LB core for the next decade with LVE and Jaylon.
— John Williams (@john9williams) April 27, 2018
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Leighton Vander Esch is the newest Dallas Cowboy and has potential to contribute from day one. What do you think of the pick? Make sure to let me know in the comments section below!
