Chicago Bears: Big board for 2018 NFL Draft
By Ryan Heckman
10. Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, Boise State
Talk about stock rising!
Leighton Vander Esch is a hot name at the moment, and has launched himself well into first-round consideration. The hype is real, but so is the talent.
At 6-foot-4, 256 pounds, Vander Esch if your prototypical inside linebacker. For a guy his size, he boasts quick feet and very good straight-line speed. His 40-yard dash time at the combine was a solid 4.65.
Something that doesn’t get talked about enough from his combine is his incredible vertical jump: 39.5 inches! As a 6-foot-4 linebacker weighing over 250 pounds, who would have envisioned a near-40-inch vertical? That is downright impressive!
Vander Esch’s athleticism reminds me a lot of another former Bear, Brian Urlacher. If you are old enough to remember — kids, you need to get to YouTube immediately — watching Urlacher play, you know he was a guy who always ended up near the football. Vander Esch is the same kind of player.
Who doesn’t want an athletic, strong linebacker in the middle who always ends up near the pile? The more I watch his tape, the more I am falling in love with the idea of him on the Bears.
He might be in the area of a late-first to mid-first-round pick, but you know what, I wouldn’t be angry if the Bears took a shot on him at no. 8. Would I be surprised? Oh, I would be shocked. But, angry? No. He is going to make a great pro.