Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch has shown off his incredible athleticism during the team’s training camp, and showing that he could possibly make it in another sport. 

The Dallas Cowboys are in a rather precarious position when it comes to how their future is set to look going forward. They have made a few strides going forward under head coach Mike McCarthy, having gone 6-10 in his first season before turning around and going 12-5 in 2021, but that hasn’t stopped some from questioning whether or not he is under pressure so soon into his tenure.

Things haven’t been helped with reports suggesting that former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton is interested in taking over in the near future, and with the pressure always on to deliver a Super Bowl in Dallas, you wouldn’t totally be surprised if McCarthy does end up getting fired, despite what Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might be saying right now.

One of the things they’ll need to improve on if they want to take a step forward is their defence, which ranked in the middle of the pack last season, 19th in terms of yards given up, but gave up the second-most penalties across the year as well.

But judging by the footage coming out of Cowboys camp, the players have got other things on their mind.

Playing a different type of ball game

Whilst training camp is the last opportunity for players to hone their skills as they get ready for preseason games, with the rest of the league getting their first games in this week, there is still the odd opportunity for players to have a bit of fun before the serious stuff begins.

Which is why linebacking duo Leighton Vander Esch and Micah Parsons decided to challenge each other to an NBA-style dunk contest, except using the goalposts rather than a basket and rim, and it was Vander Esch who came out on top as able to get the ball through his legs and over the rim to complete an incredible dunk, whilst Parsons couldn’t even finish his sequence:

Now the NFL has banned the practice of dunking the ball over the crossbar, so it’s unlikely that we’ll see them be abel to recreate this in a game, but if the NFL does decide to relax their policy, then we just have to hope that Vander Esch is in a position to score and pull off the same move in celebration.