WHY LVE? Someone please convince me!

[cowboy_ron]

Buyer beware.....his past history has neck issues as well as a pinched nerve in his spine.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

You are fully on board?

If he's drafted at #19 I would totally get the rationale. He's an ascending player. If he stayed at Boise another season and duplicated the season he had this past year (or even come close to it) he'd very likely be a Top 10 player next year.

His best football is in front of him. I like Evans as well. I think for some this is really just another message board false dichotomy; one player must be great while the other must suck; there's no middle ground.

 

[Sydla]

If he's drafted at #19 I would totally get the rationale. He's an ascending player. If he stayed at Boise another season and duplicated the season he had this past year (or even come close to it) he'd very likely be a Top 10 player next year.

His best football is in front of him. I like Evans as well. I think for some this is really just another message board false dichotomy; one player must be great while the other must suck; there's no middle ground.

Too risky for me. I get the thinking behind the pick but this smacks of forcing a pick because he’s the most toolsy at a position they have a hole.

I wouldn’t hate LVE but I wouldn’t slobber over the pick either.

 

[gimmesix]

If the rumors are to be believed then Dallas supposedly sees the next coming of Brian Urlacher in LVE. If their scouting department and coaches truly feel that way then they need to run to the podium if he is there at 19.

I agree with this. I think a lot of fans are gun shy because he's built like Bobby Carpenter, but Carpenter was selected under the Parcells/Ireland regime. This scouting department under McClay has earned some trust, so if it sees LVE being a Urlacher-type player, then I have no problem with the team taking him.

I also have no problem with Evans, and if Vea is there, I want him to be the pick. But I'm not going to fret over our choice, whoever it is, before I get a chance to see what he can do.

 

[rags747]

Was just listening to NFL Network on Sirius about 15min ago, they had the Giants play by play guy Bob Papa and former OL David Diehl on. Cowboys fan called, Both raved about LVE over Evans, said he is Sean Lee II and it would be the perfect fit. Said he was a much more explosive player than Evans, very quick to diagnose plays and all over the field. Diehl called a couple of Boise St games and Pappa said that he walked into the Giants film room yesterday and they just happened to be watching LVE film. Take it for what it's worth...

 

[Gaede]

If available, I think can pretty much write Vander Esch on the card

 

[InDakWeTrust]

When you're comparing two guys that you're trying to separate you look at level of competition, athleticism, injury history, intangibles and other things. LVE wins nearly all of them. He was the best player on his D, Evans wasn't even the 4th best. LVE might have injury history but Evans also was injured this year too. I bet having Lee there when LVE visited we will see how strongly we feel about him.
I'm feeling LVE is the pick at #19. Evans is a 2ND rounder in my book.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

I'd have zero issues with taking Evans but I'm guessing the Cowboys may be looking at ceilings when comparing Evans to LVE.

 

[Macnalty]

Don't get your hopes up too high, and not trying to crush your bubble,, but you really think without a major trade up, that Evans is even a remote possibility?

Yes he was injured most of last year, if he clears medically he deserves to be in the conversation. Not the greatest MLB but would make us better, he is a OLB imo that can play MLB

 

[darthseinfeld]

Too risky for me. I get the thinking behind the pick but this smacks of forcing a pick because he’s the most toolsy at a position they have a hole.

I wouldn’t hate LVE but I wouldn’t slobber over the pick either.

He is a few players down my list, but if he comes close to his ceiling he is a player that offenses need to know where he is pre snap. I can live with that at 19

 

[Prime21]

Buyer beware.....his past history has neck issues as well as a pinched nerve in his spine.

First I've heard of this issue. Injury scares plus the high SPARQ score make him a perfect 2nd rounder for us.

 

[DiResta]

Buyer beware.....his past history has neck issues as well as a pinched nerve in his spine.

“The report is false,” Ron Slavin told the Idaho Press-Tribune Monday. “I have the medical grades. No one flunked him and he wasn’t even asked to go back to Indy for a recheck.”

Slavin said Vander Esch scored a four out of five on the medical exams at the combine. Players with injury concerns are asked to go back closer to the draft to be medically checked again, but according to Slavin, Vander Esch wasn’t asked to do that.

Vander Esch suffered a concussion and neck stinger on the same play early in the 2016 season and was forced to miss seven games. But he returned to play the final two games of the season and had no known medical issues last season. He played all 14 games and had 141 tackles last year before declaring for the draft.

“I’ve been told by multiple teams that this is not a concern and for a player that plays his position, if they haven’t gotten a stinger, that’s a miracle,” Slavin said later on KTIK radio. “The report to me is really irresponsible. … The only reason I’m bothered by it is because it’s unfair to Leighton. It’s not professional the way he went about it.

“It won’t hurt him because I’m told it’s not an issue.”

the medical report from the NFL scouting combine showing that Vander Esch was given a passing grade for his health and was not asked to come back to the April medical re-check in Indianapolis, which very commonly happens when initial tests are concerning or inconclusive.

The combine medical report gave Vander Esch a medical grade of 4 out of a possible 5 — the lower the number, the more concerning the player's injury status is. A five would be a fully healthy player with no known medical issues; typically players are only red-flagged if they receiver lower than a 3 on the combine report.

This clears up some of the picture, as Boise State's coaching staff adhered to a policy of not revealing the specific nature of injuries for their players. Two scouts had mentioned to PFW previously Vander Esch's right knee injury, a grade-1 LCL sprain, which he suffered in August of 2016.

But it appears the more concerning injury was actually a neck impingement Vander Esch suffered in September of that year in a game against Oregon State and initially was diagnosed as a concussion. We spoke with a source who had knowledge of Vander Esch's medical history who told us that the concussion diagnosis was found to be incorrect after Vander Esch told the school's medical staff he was not suffering any concussion-like symptoms but rather pain in his neck.

Upon further evaluation, Vander Esch was found to have suffered a stinger — an extremely common injury among linebackers especially — and began wearing a neckroll thereafter once he returned to the field. Vander Esch later visited with a chiropractor, who quickly adjusted him, relieved the pain from the pinched nerve and helped clear his path to return to the field.

The actual wording of the combine medical report we received indicated the pinched nerve in the cervical area, and we've never heard of a prospect being medically red-flagged for that. The report indicates no structural damage was found, nor was there any evidence that Vander Esch suffered a significant concussion or any further head trauma in that incident almost 18 months ago.

The Boise State coaching and medical staffs kept him out as a precaution at the time, and Vander Esch returned to the field with a big performance against Air Force (first career interception, seven tackles, two for loss) in November of that season and played in the remaining two games that season.

 

[DiResta]

He is a few players down my list, but if he comes close to his ceiling he is a player that offenses need to know where he is pre snap. I can live with that at 19

he and Evans should go a bit later but will be overdrafted if you want them unless Dallas can trade back a few spots
then you just take whichever the Steelers dont ideally or just a head of them
i would like to know which they would choose if both were available

 

[cowboy_ron]

First I've heard of this issue. Injury scares plus the high SPARQ score make him a perfect 2nd rounder for us.

Yep, perfect 2nd rd......I wouldn't mind that at all.

 

[cowboy_ron]

Good info, thanks.