Five Dallas Cowboys who could have a comeback year in 2020

Think about the current Dallas Cowboys who’ve been great in the past. Which of them can return to peak form?

One thing you can depend on in sports: You never know what’s going to happen. Some players will excel. Some will disappoint. And some will get injured. Hopefully, that won’t happen with many of the Dallas Cowboys in the coming season, but it always happens to somebody.

Today, we’ll focus on those that will excel. But we’re not going to stop there. We’re going to focus even tighter. Of the players on the team who’ve already excelled, but had a down year in 2019, which are most likely to have a resurgence this year?

Leighton Vander Esch, LB

With the excellent play of his rookie year, and his season-ending neck injury last year, some are calling Vander Esch the new Sean Lee. That remains to be seen. But what isn’t up for debate is how good the dominating linebacker can be when healthy.

Let’s put it this way: He was a Pro-Bowler and an All-Pro as a rookie. That’s hard to do. But it was clear he deserved those honors. His stats were sky-high: 140 tackles, two interceptions, two tackles for loss.

But it wasn’t just that. He was stopping plays early, like Lee used to do, slipping through blockers to kill the play. He was a difference-maker, and enabled his colleague, Jaylon Smith, to play at a higher level too.

Isn’t that the ultimate cliché about great players: that they can raise the level of their teammates? Well, Vander Esch did that. As a rookie. But can he achieve that level once again?