Dallas Cowboys: Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith’s 30 snaps

Coming into this Dallas Cowboys season, there was a ton of chatter about the future for some of their guys. Some of those guys in question, for as crazy as it might sound, have been key for the Cowboys during their tenures… when they could stay on the field, of course.

However, the taste that was last season’s defensive bloodbath leaves, is more than enough to consider making changes. That’s just what seemed to be in play for Leighton Vander Esch and/or Jaylon Smith heading into this season.

While Smith is on the third year of his six-year deal for $68 million, LVE had his fifth-year option declined by the Cowboys earlier this calendar year. Again though, there were questions surrounding both of them, anyway, coming into this season.

Last Thursday’s opening night contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers probably didn’t help a ton either. Here is the specific evidence in question.

Well and as Drummond put it so elegantly, “just… wow”. How can you have two high picks and one on a $70 million dollar deal, only playing a small fraction of the contest?