Indianapolis Colts rookie linebacker Darius Leonard has had a terrific start to his career. Chicago Bears rookie linebacker Roquan Smith has a great career ahead of him. San Francisco 49ers rookie linebacker Fred Warner has played phenomenally at times this season.
However, the Cowboys' Leighton Vander Esch has been the best rookie linebacker in football through 10 weeks, and if the 2018 NFL draft happened today, he would be the first linebacker off the board.
Even though he was selected in the first round, no one thought Vander Esch's transition from Boise State to the NFL would be this easy, especially considering he missed large portions of offseason activities and training camp because of injuries.