The Dallas Cowboys have experienced a nice turnaround on the defensive side of the ball in the last few seasons. Mike McCarthy’s tenure as head coach of the team started with record-setting poor performances defensively, but Dan Quinn has gotten the unit back on track as defensive coordinator.
Dallas finished 28th in points allowed and 23rd in yardage in 2020, McCarthy’s first season on the job. In 2021, they improved drastically, ranking seventh in points and 19th in yardage. This past season they were even better, ranking fifth and 12th.
This a star-studded defense with Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence leading the pass rush and Trevon Diggs in the secondary. They will be even more dangerous now that the Cowboys have added another stud opposite of Diggs, Stephon Gilmore.
But, the player who helps bring it all together is linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. The first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft had his fifth-year option declined in 2022, but ended up returning to the team. He put together the second-best season of his career, picking up 90 tackles, four tackles for loss and one quarterback hit in 14 regular season games.
Vander Esch and the Cowboys agreed to a two-year, $8 million deal in free agency this year to bring him back. It was a move that was considered one of the top under-the-radar moves of the offseason thus far.
The improved production in 2022 compared to what he provided in recent seasons was certainly nice for the Cowboys. But, Vander Esch’s impact on the team goes beyond statistics. He wears the green dot for the defense and helps get his teammates aligned, putting them in the right positions to find success.
That impact was felt in the games that Vander Esch missed. Without him handling the play-calling and lining everyone up, the performance of the defense suffered. Their run defense wasn’t as stout without Vander Esch on the field as they missed his production and IQ to get everyone else in the right spots.
Back on a two-year deal, Vander Esch will now have the opportunity to groom the next linebacker to take over for him, much like Sean Lee did for him. Damone Clark could be that player, as he had a productive rookie season despite appearing in only 10 games and playing less than 60 percent of the defensive snaps.
