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Leighton Vander Esch (1 Viewer)

Play him. The Lions are a top-10 match up for LBs. With Lee out, LVE's more than likely to play close to 100% of the defensive snaps alongside Smith. With Detroit's new found running game and Dallas' inability to keep their offense on the field, LVE should have tons of tackle opportunities. You could say he will see the "Lion's share" of tackle opportunities. Too much? Sorry, it's early.

 
Yep.  Picked up LVE yesterday and I'm starting him immediately.  Dude played 33 snaps on Sunday, and racked up 9 solos, 2 assists and a tackle for loss.  Should be gold while Lee is out.

 
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TheCommish said:
Yep.  Picked him up LVE yesterday and I'm starting him immediately.  Dude played 33 snaps on Sunday, and racked up 9 solos, 2 assists and a tackle for loss.  Should be gold while Lee is out.
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... with a good chance to keep the spot even when Lee returns, I imagine. Lee is just so fragile and has looked like he's either not 100% or has lost a lot of his game to the litany of injuries over his career. 

 
11 solos and 3 assists ... love it ... don't give the spot back to Lee!!!

 
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The Claymaker said:
Even if Lee comes back, it won’t last. 
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At this point I'm assuming Lee isn't getting the job back without injury to LVE. They drafted him at 17 to play and Lee has looked pretty bad when he was able to take the field. 

 
Interesting take... I was just considering trading LVE for some running back depth but might hold and see how it all plays out. They'll find snaps for a healthy Lee but LVE might be the three down guy out of the two...

 
BigAl21 said:
Interesting take... I was just considering trading LVE for some running back depth but might hold and see how it all plays out. They'll find snaps for a healthy Lee but LVE might be the three down guy out of the two...
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One of the blurbs on Lee mentions injury to both hamstrings... the guy is just too fragile and he's 32. His play early this season, his history, and his age don't bode well for him making a big push to unseat LVE. I think it'll take injury to LVE or a complete on-field implosion for Lee to have a significant impact once he returns. IDK the staff, though. If they are Chucky types that are dead set on playing a veteran then I could be way off. To me it looks like they tried to give Lee the veteran nod and he was not very good and then started missing time to injury but it looks pretty clear who the better backer is, at this point.

Lee is already expected to miss week 6, per Jerruh.

 
This dude was an absolute monster. I was facing the Vender Esch team & he was a tackle machine. I watched every snap of the game & was really impressed with his motor. At this point the Cowboys would be smart to make Lee a situational player & start Vander Esch regardless of Lee's health. Kid's a beast. I wish he was higher on my radar before the season. 

 
The Lee guy in my league actually dropped him (Lee) yesterday.  He obviously gets the same vibe about LVE that I do.

 
TheCommish said:
The Lee guy in my league actually dropped him (Lee) yesterday.  He obviously gets the same vibe about LVE that I do.
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Given Lee’s lengthy injury history, sluggishness to recover & the fact that even at 100% he’s been far less effective this year, I’d say Lee is a drop regardless. 

 
I'm in a league where we start 2 LB's and 2 D-Flex.  I'm fairly Deep at LB.  I own Lee. 

Picked up LVE.  Figured I'd be better off dropping him for offensive upside.  Kicking myself. 

 
7 T, 4 A, 1 PD

...and the TD to Beasley where LVE was right in step with him as an LB was damn impressive, even if he couldn't stop that play. I can't imagine the Cowboys are in any rush to get Lee back in the lineup. Pedigree, play, and production all seem to be in line for this kid to stay put in the starting lineup. Maybe that's just my LVE shares talking? I'm super deep at LB in the 1 league I own him, though, so I doubt it... lol

 
There's never enough IDP press to be sure...

Smart money says LVE doesn't lose the snaps. Lee didn't look good early in the year and all the press on LVE is positive. Seems unlikely Lee cuts into his snaps now and, even if the Cowboys really want to get Lee back in, it's likely he's eased back into action. That would make LVE a safe start this week, either way.

With that said, if you're choosing between LVE and another good LB, it makes sense to hedge your bets and let LVE stay on the bench. 

 
 Kind of irritating we pay for the rankings and as of today they still have Lee a top ten LB and Kirksey, who is on IR listed in the rankings. Those early rankings need to be adjusted each day at least on the level of taking off disabled players and adding in the players who move up and down in response to those injuries. Cannot just post once early in the week and then let it ride, at least on a pay site

 
statgrubby said:
 Kind of irritating we pay for the rankings and as of today they still have Lee a top ten LB and Kirksey, who is on IR listed in the rankings. Those early rankings need to be adjusted each day at least on the level of taking off disabled players and adding in the players who move up and down in response to those injuries. Cannot just post once early in the week and then let it ride, at least on a pay site
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Agreed. 

That is disappointing. Also... They send an email when something major happens. But those seem to focus on the offensive side. I'd love to get an email when a key defensive player has something news worthy happen. (i.e. Sean Lee is out multiple weeks) 

 
Tough call. I like LVE better ROS but the playoff schedule heavily favors Kuechly (Saints Falcons - while LVE has Colts Bucs). Too great a concern for LVE not really needing to do much, while the Panthers games are both very likely to have playoff seeding implications. 

Do you need help getting the the playoffs, or winning them? 

 
Wooters said:
The only thing I read is Norton's Eyes of the Guru article. 
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Really wish this was more consistently available before waivers run on Wednesday though...Thursday is too late to act on some of the information. 

 
ridicule said:
Really wish this was more consistently available before waivers run on Wednesday though...Thursday is too late to act on some of the information. 
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That has been a suggestion for years.  It doesn't seem to have any effect though. 

 
Absolute IDP stud right here.  He's all over the field and constantly finds the ball carrier.  His rankings are finally showing that now too.

 
statgrubby said:
 Kind of irritating we pay for the rankings and as of today they still have Lee a top ten LB and Kirksey, who is on IR listed in the rankings. Those early rankings need to be adjusted each day at least on the level of taking off disabled players and adding in the players who move up and down in response to those injuries. Cannot just post once early in the week and then let it ride, at least on a pay site
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It could be worse you could look at rankings where Norton has McDougald as the 6th ranked DB in my scoring system and he plays like the 106th Ranked DB.  I had him out for Bethea but followed the rankings and put him in.  I think in all the time I have used rankings both offense and defense that if I had a guy in before I looked and followed the rankings at least 67% of the time it ended up screwing me over.  Honestly not sure why we even use rankings these guys know no more than any of us who play this game.  This year more than any year I have learned not to look at rankings when making lineup decisions it's just better to lose on your own then follow others only if you are truly 50/50 on a call should you look at rankings because 2 out of 3 times your gut is usually right.

 
Wooters said:
 The only thing I read is Norton's Eyes of the Guru article. 
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I read this every week too usually pretty informative though it comes out too late in the week sometimes I will have already missed out on his key pickups.

 
Wooters said:
Norton has explained why it doesn't come out prior to most waiver runs, and his answer is that it takes too much time.  Basically, he goes through every game and just doesn't have the time to knock it out on Tuesday.  I will say this past week I was shocked that it came out on Wednesday morning/afternoon.  Ususally it comes out on Thursday.
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Well thanks for nothing Norton.  This is your living do your job better.

 
Dez said:
Well thanks for nothing Norton.  This is your living do your job better.
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Pretty sure this is his 2nd job, and his actions are telling us that he'd rather keep his primary job than live on what he's getting here.

So needling him like this is more likely to lead to "no EotG articles at all" rather than getting them earlier.  Careful what you wish for...

 
Seeing what he’s produced without Lee, I think LVE is the top ranked IDP in tackle heavy or neutral scoring systems. Simple been outstanding both in the box score and according to PFF grading. If you drafte d him feel good about yourself 

 
I love what Vender Esch has been doing especially given his limited snap count early, but I'd take Darius Leonard over him right now.  Leonard already has over 100 tackles on the season and he missed a game.  Sure makes me feel good that I hopped on the bandwagon early with Vander Esch though.

 
Saw the 1AST tackle at half due to limited opportunity, but woke up to see once again when the dust settled he was leading tackler. This dude eats up ball carriers for breakfast.

 
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#1 LB across all my leagues since he came off his week 9 bye. Too bad I only own him in 1. Now if only he could show Rashaan Evans how it's done...

 
This sucks. No matter which player you have. 😡👎

Sean Lee - LB - Cowboys
Jerry Jones said LB Sean Lee (hamstring) will reclaim his starting job when he returns.

Leighton Vander Esch is currently the favorite to be Defensive Rookie of the Year, but Jaylon Smith is also playing well and Lee was solid before he went down. Ultimately, having three outstanding linebackers is a good problem to have, and if anything Vander Esch's emergence should allow the Cowboys to limit Lee's snaps and keep him healthy once he returns.
Source: Jori Epstein on Twitter

 
Lee will be the one coming off the field on third downs - plain and simple - he won’t be in their nickel. I don’t see this unfolding any other way.

 
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I think he will be fine.  I don't see him coming out very often even with Lee back (I assume that is what you are referring to about playing most of the game).  I have no reservations with starting him ROS. 

 
Gally said:
I think he will be fine.  I don't see him coming out very often even with Lee back (I assume that is what you are referring to about playing most of the game).  I have no reservations with starting him ROS. 
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Yes. That's what I was referring to. Thanks. He's been a solid pickup for me so I'd like to keep that going.

 
(RotoWire) Vander Esch has primarily been playing the weak side with the Cowboys' first-team defense during OTAs, Jon Machota of The Athletic reports. Analysis: The linebacker has looked healthy this offseason, and a shift out of the middle could help him regain the IDP form that saw him rack up 212 tackles in 25 games over his first two NFL seasons. Dallas has a crowded linebacker room, though, including the addition of first-round pick Micah Parsons, and Vander Esch could well find himself seeing fewer snaps per game in an effort to keep him on the field after two injury-plagued campaigns.

 
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