Dallas Cowboys LB Depth Chart: Can Anyone Step Up Alongside Leighton Vander Esch in 2023?

Leighton Vander Esch didn’t receive the same fanfare he had as a rookie playing alongside Jaylon Smith, but his 2022 campaign was likely the best of his career. But what can the rest of the Dallas Cowboys‘ LB depth chart provide alongside Vander Esch in 2023 to help keep the Cowboys’ defense near the top of the charts?

Dallas Cowboys LB Depth Chart

Vander Esch sits at the top of the Cowboys’ LB depth chart. But while the veteran played 882 defensive snaps in 2022, the next-closest linebacker on the team only played 398 snaps. That was Damone Clark, and he didn’t even start playing until Week 8.

Clark is the most likely candidate to be the second starter, but does that matter as much for the Cowboys as it does for other teams?

Yes and no. Dallas is losing over 600 defensive snaps at linebacker from Anthony Barr. But the Cowboys also played three safeties over 900 snaps a piece last season, and Jayron Kearse played more snaps in the box than anywhere else on the field a season ago.

MORE: Dallas Cowboys 2023 NFL Schedule

Clarke’s comeback from spinal fusion surgery to play in 2022 was a feat in and of itself. But he played surprisingly well for coming off a serious surgery and not having an offseason to work on his craft alongside teammates. And if we’ve learned anything about the position over the years, it’s that linebackers usually get better as their snap counts rise.

“I think this is going to be huge for Damone,” said Vander Esch. “We’ve been training pretty much the whole offseason before we reported [to the facility] together.”

Is This the Year Jabril Cox Breaks Out?

Vander Esch is a good player, but he’s also a forever injury concern given his history of neck injuries, and he’s only on a modest two-year deal. The Cowboys don’t seem overly concerned with spending significant assets at the LB position, but they’re using mid-draft capital on them about every year at this point.

Jabril Cox was a fan and draft analyst favorite. While at LSU, he was an outstanding coverage player and a good enough run defender to avoid being seen as a complete liability. But the Tigers linebacker hasn’t been able to find the field over the course of his two-year career. Injuries derailed him early on, and now he must compete against Clark for snaps.

“When you have players that have a major injury, that first year back, there’s a first time getting through a number of thresholds they need to get over,” head coach Mike McCarthy said.

“I can only tell you based off what I see, I do feel like he is back. He’s had a really good offseason program. And obviously, there’s more competition there too. Major joint injuries take time. I think you see it each year. They never really totally come back clean immediately. It’s usually the second year where they really feel back to normal.”

DeMarvion Overshown’s Rookie Role

We shouldn’t expect to see the rookie third-rounder on the field defensively. However, that doesn’t mean DeMarvion Overshown’s unable to help the team in a meaningful way. He must progress as a box player, but Overshown should shine pretty immediately as a special-teams player.

MORE: Dallas Cowboys DL Depth Chart 2023

If he wants to become a down-in and down-out NFL linebacker, he must gain some strength and continue to hone his processing ability to avoid being a liability against the run. Although coverage ability is of massive importance to modern linebackers, if they simply get picked on against the run, it’ll be hard for them to find the field.