There are hundreds of stories and opinions shared during the planning and anticipation stages of the 2018 NFL Draft. As a former high school football coach and educator by trade, one of my passions include providing film-based reviews on rookie prospects and focusing on their strengths and weakness which may assist other fantasy football enthusiasts in their evaluations.

After reviewing six of his games, here’s my scouting report on junior Boise State Broncos inside linebacker Leighton Vander Esch:

[Note: Most of these game videos are available via YouTube]

LB Leighton Vander Esch, Boise State
6’4” | 256 lbs.

Games Studied: Wyoming, BYU, Oregon, San Diego State, Troy, Virginia

Cons: The biggest question marks surrounding Leighton Vander Esch (“LVE”) are his lack of experience (started only one season) and the lesser competition he faced in the Mountain West Conference. As far as competition, this linebacker was not recruited out of high school. He came from a small Iowa town with a population of 400 and his high school program played eight-man football. Despite being a Boise State walk-on, LVE learned a football scholarship quickly. His lack of playing time before his junior season was more about growing into his body. LVE was a 210-pound freshman and spent much of that season in the weight room only to get hurt the following season, missing seven of the Broncos thirteen games. There have been a few recent rumors regarding an undisclosed injury that some NFL teams may have planted to lower his draft stock.

On the field, LVE isn’t the smoothest athlete. He lacks quickness and tends to run a bit high and unbalanced, especially when dropping back into pass coverage. I have compared his stance to that of a praying mantis because his feet and arms are rarely parallel. LVE doesn’t always take the best angles pursuing the ball often which results in him either getting caught up in blocks longer or having to over maneuver around the mass of humanity at the line of scrimmage. When coming in for the tackle, the linebacker rarely knocks the ball carrier backward. Instead, he swallows them up like a catcher’s mitt to a baseball. LVE needs to work on delivering the powerful blows as well as getting stronger at the point of attack to create a bigger impact on the gridiron.

Pros: LVE is deceptively athletic. He was an outstanding high school athlete as a basketball player, quarterback, linebacker, and high jumper who led his football and basketball teams to state championships during his junior and senior years. The linebacker has good vision and football instincts that help him almost predetermine where the pigskin is headed before the snap. He is quite versatile as a linebacker which would allow most NFL teams to play him on the inside or outside regardless of defensive scheme (4-3 or 3-4). Although, I feel LVE would be most effective as a weak inside linebacker (“Will”) as that linebacker spot is usually protected the best by the other defenders occupying blockers.

LVE does offer some playmaking experience. He has three career interceptions returned for 47 yards and can slip through the line of scrimmage for an occasional blitz on the quarterback. I really like the way the linebacker flows out into the flats on bubble screens to disrupt the offense. Despite tackling like a catcher’s mitt at times, LVE is a strong open-field tackler who rarely misses. His motor is always running, and he will pursue the ball carrier from the snap until the whistle every play; there is no half effort from him.

Overall impressions: LVE is a raw piece of clay. He doesn’t have much experience, and he didn’t play against powerhouse college teams. The linebacker walked on to Boise State, gained 46 pounds in three years, and became the 2017 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. What else was this young playmaker supposed to accomplish during that time? Either way you look at it, he is a few days away from becoming a first-round NFL Draft selection. His explosive lower half, good instincts, and vision should make him a rookie linebacker worth drafting in the second round of most IDP rookie drafts. As with most IDPs, location and scheme will determine about 40% of his worth (I am hoping for the Will), while his athletic gifts will make up the other 60%. I currently have LVE ranked as my 3rd best rookie linebacker trailing only Georgia’s Roquan Smith and Virginia Tech’s Tremaine Edmunds. 

Thanks for reading. I will continue to generate and discuss 2018 rookie scouting reports with you leading up to the NFL Draft, so be sure to keep an eye on DTC for all of the new content. You can also follow me on Twitter @AndrewMiley.