BUFFALO, N.Y. — Leighton Vander Esch hails from a town in Idaho with a population of under 500.

Because of those small numbers, in many places around the state, eight-man football is prominent. Vander Esch credits the smaller, faster game with enhancing his quickness and open-field tackling — something the linebacker showcased at Boise State.

"I feel like I cover the field really well," Vander Esch said. "I'm always around the ball. I'm always going to put myself in position to be around the ball, be close to it. We took great pride in that at Boise State, being relentless finishers and making sure we always just ran to the ball." 

If there's one knock on Vander Esch, it's his small sample size: Starting just one season for the Broncos. However, in that one year, he earned Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors with 141 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and four forced fumbles.

His body continuing to evolve too, adding 15 pounds during the pre-draft process to push him to 6 foot 4, 256 lbs — all while maintaining some of the best quickness of this entire linebacker class.

"I feel like they can move me around, utilize me however they want," Vander Esch said. "I got pretty good athleticism so I feel like where ever they put me I'm going to get the job done and I'm going to make sure I do that by preparing myself every chance I get. I played the majority of my time at Boise at Will Linebacker, inside about half and half, but they moved me around."

That versatility fits right into Sean McDermott's wheelhouse. Vander Esch likely will go in the mid-first to early second round.

Check back with Spectrum News as we continue our Prospect Profiles series Wednesday with Oregon tackle Tyrell Crosby.