Why did Dallas draft Leighton Vander Esch?

[Future]

So a guy who "never cared about football" and "didn't play particularly hard", still looks good enough to get signed to a big deal by another team and then never produces even a fraction elsewhere of what he produced in Dallas.

To me, that's a strong case for the LB coach. Not against him. But anyways we're just going in circles. We should agree to disagree I guess because neither one of us is changing our minds.

Right, because teams never give big money to players who can't live up to the contract.

We are going in circles because you are completely mis-remembering who Bruce Carter was as a player. Did Eberflus get the most out of his talent, no. Whether or not Tampa gave him a dumb contract is irrelevant.

 

[John813]

So, only Mike Fisher has this report.

It's been weeks since he last played but no other reporter has mentioned this.

I'm going to label this as BS until further notice.


https://sportsinjurypredictor.com/player/leighton-vander-esch/10015

Here's LVE's injuries in college:

Oct 1, 2016 Non-NFL Cervical Neck Pinched Nerve Vander Esch missed 7 games in 2016 with a pinched nerve in his neck.
Aug 15, 2016 Non-NFL Knee LCL Pull Grade 1 Vander Esch suffered a Grade 1 LCL sprain in August 2016 but was ready for the start of the season on September 3.

Boy, look at all those neck injuries in college.

RIP

 

[TexasHillbilly]

Why did we draft Taco Charlton, Greg Ellis over Randy Moss, Julius Jones over Stephen Jackson, two number 1's for Joey Galloway...The check writer wants to be Jimmy at evaluating talent and he just isn't...

Why is a pigs butt pork? Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your going to get.

You just never know how certain talent will develop. It's all just a crap shoot.

 

[Chill35]

Darius Leonard, Calvin Ridley, Lamar Jackson, and a bunch of good offensive linemen.

Even if we had drafted them our coaches suck at developing talent. Jerry would never have changed the whole offense to suit Lamar's skillset, just as they have not done it to showcase Dak. It doesn't matter who we draft when the Offensive and Defensive schemes are predictable by the opponents. We can't even cover kickoffs. It takes really bad coaching to make a talented team play as bad as the Cowboys have this year.

 

[erod]

So, only Mike Fisher has this report.

It's been weeks since he last played but no other reporter has mentioned this.

I'm going to label this as BS until further notice.


https://sportsinjurypredictor.com/player/leighton-vander-esch/10015

Here's LVE's injuries in college:

Oct 1, 2016 Non-NFL Cervical Neck Pinched Nerve Vander Esch missed 7 games in 2016 with a pinched nerve in his neck.
Aug 15, 2016 Non-NFL Knee LCL Pull Grade 1 Vander Esch suffered a Grade 1 LCL sprain in August 2016 but was ready for the start of the season on September 3.

Boy, look at all those neck injuries in college.

RIP

Then why did teams take him off their draft boards because of neck injury concerns?

 

[erod]

I just remember them saying something about him having a "narrowing spine" or something like that, but that it wasn't a huge issue.

A narrowing spine is referred to as spinal stenosis.

 

[NeonNinja]

More concerned on why they paid Jaylon.

Because friendship and family atmosphere is the culture more than business/winning.

 

[Noclaf]

Watch him never play a down again, it would be so Cowboys

 

[CATCH17]

We're just speculating how critical this is.

There is not enough information for us as fans to panic and we should just chalk this up as a standard injury for now.

Hopefully this doesn't turn into another Sean Lee situation for us but LVE is an absolutely incredible talent and that is why they drafted him.

 

[John813]

Then why did teams take him off their draft boards because of neck injury concerns?

He was flagged. But the neck injury suffered in 2016 was diagnosed as a stinger.
We'll never know how many teams actually removed him or was it just predraft talk.

If you want to know why the Cowboys drafted him, Will McClay was his biggest supporter in the draft room.

Also helped that his agent, Ron Slavin, also from DC with ties to the Cowboys talked up his player to them as well.


The Cowboys have shown they'll take risks on players with a medical flag, when the potential talent outweighs the risk.

I hope he doesn't have a serious injury and I have yet to see a credible source for this type of injury. Hard to believe a year + has gone by and nothing has leaked. Don't trust Fisher.

 

[atlantacowboy]

Leighton Vander Esch has spinal stenosis. Had it his whole life.

That's the same condition that ended Michael Irvin's career. And he wasn't a head-butting middle linebacker.

This condition was why many NFL teams took Vander Esch off their board before the 2018 draft. He was deemed too risky to take early in the draft.

Apparently dating back to high school and college, he's had continuous issues with neck injuries just like he's going through now. I wonder if his poor play is partly because he's mentally trying to protect his neck at all times.

Why would you draft a linebacker with a severe neck injury risk in the first round? What are we doing early in these otherwise good drafts in recent years?

We could already be looking at the end of his career sooner rather than later. He could end up in the same scrap heap as Randy Gregory, Taco Charlton, and Trysten Hill in the end.

Why? Same reason we drafted Jaylon Smith. Same reason we drafted Randy Gregory. Same reason we drafted Tristan Hill. Same reason we drafted Taco. We are completely focused on hitting home runs and the upside of a player is all that matters. Character? Who cares. Injury? Who cares. Wasn't good in college? Who cares. The Dallas Cowboys only care about upside.........as they perceive it.

 

[TWOK11]

Leighton Vander Esch has spinal stenosis. Had it his whole life.

This is a myth that has been repeatedly denied by numerous people inside and outside the organization including LVE, his agent, two outside GMs and two physicians.

 

[beware_d-ware]

Crowing about him last year.

Calling him a wasted pick this year.

Stay prisoners of the moment, CZ.

 

[TWOK11]

Mike Fisher reported it on The Fan a few weeks ago.

He’s wrong

 

[Proof]

A narrowing spine is referred to as spinal stenosis.

yes. obviously. I'm just relaying how trivially I recall it being mentioned at the time.

 

[Blackspider214]

Darius Leonard, Calvin Ridley, Lamar Jackson, and a bunch of good offensive linemen.

Lamar Jackson would look like a bum with this staff. You honestly think we'd design an offense that suits him? Nope. He'd be running the same outdated offense from 2 decades ago and our crappy OL would get him killed.

 

[Rockport]

Leighton Vander Esch has spinal stenosis. Had it his whole life.

That's the same condition that ended Michael Irvin's career. And he wasn't a head-butting middle linebacker.

This condition was why many NFL teams took Vander Esch off their board before the 2018 draft. He was deemed too risky to take early in the draft.

Apparently dating back to high school and college, he's had continuous issues with neck injuries just like he's going through now. I wonder if his poor play is partly because he's mentally trying to protect his neck at all times.

Why would you draft a linebacker with a severe neck injury risk in the first round? What are we doing early in these otherwise good drafts in recent years?

We could already be looking at the end of his career sooner rather than later. He could end up in the same scrap heap as Randy Gregory, Taco Charlton, and Trysten Hill in the end.

House do you know he has that condition?

 

[atlantacowboy]

Lamar Jackson would look like a bum with this staff. You honestly think we'd design an offense that suits him? Nope. He'd be running the same outdated offense from 2 decades ago and our crappy OL would get him killed.

True, Garret would have him sitting in a pocket taking 3 and 5 step drops..........thus missing out on what he does best.

 

[Runwildboys]

No it wasn't. The entire defense fell apart if Lee got hurt for like 5 straight years.

I assume he meant once we got Jaylon and LVE on the field with Lee.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Cowboys checked him out before the draft, and didn't think his neck was a concern. Even Jerry's not stupid enough to draft a player with spinal stenosis.

Most every player has his weak spot, as do most of us. Knee, hamstring, shoulder or whatever. Neck may be his weak spot, but that doesn't mean it's reason to not draft him....