A year ago, the Dallas Cowboys had one of the elite linebackers groups in the NFL. Leighton Vander Esch was coming off a stellar rookie season, Jaylon Smith had finally turned the corner on his horrific knee injury and Sean Lee was still good, with flashes of dominance.
Throw in veteran supersub Joe Thomas and no team in the league had the depth the Cowboys did at LB. When training camp and the preseason began in 2019, another name emerged as someone to keep an eye on at LB, Luke Gifford.
College Prospect
A former two-way player, Gifford was a quarterback, so if his physical traits come through at the professional level, he likely has the play-diagnosis ability to turn into a real playmaker.
From Dane Brugler’s 2019 Draft Guide:
SUMMARY: A three-star recruit out of high school, Luke Gifford was a two-way performer at Southeast with 970 passing yards, 742 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns, adding 50 tackles and two interceptions at safety. Growing up in Lincoln, he committed the moment Nebraska offered and moved to linebacker prior to the 2015 season. Gifford battled a hip injury as an underclassman, including surgery (November 2017), which ended his junior season. He returned strong as a senior captain and had a career year under the new coaching staff. Gifford was at his best as an upfield player, showing off his speed to the edge and pass rush intensity. He competes with the aggressive nature required to set a hard edge and do battle in the trenches. He plays mentally alert, but his anticipation lacks development, which also shows in coverage. Overall, Gifford doesn’t have an extensive resume due to injuries, but he is a high IQ athlete with the play personality desired for the NFL.
Dallas signed Gifford as an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska and it didn’t take him long to stand out.
Gifford had an interception in the team’s first preseason game last year against the San Francisco 49ers. Unfortunately, in the same contest Gifford suffered a high ankle sprain that knocked him out for the rest of the preseason. The Cowboys liked Gifford so much they decided to place him on IR with a designation to return.
In just a few short weeks, Gifford had proven he had the effort, football IQ and production to stick around for the regular season. The team saw enough potential in Gifford as a valuable back-up and a special teams player.
The rookie came off IR and returned to the Cowboys in Week 6 against the New York Jets, but primarily played special teams in his six games. Gifford’s season was over when he fractured his forearm against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15; he finished the year with just six tackles.
Gifford’s best traits coming out of college were his leadership and toughness. His hustle also helped earned him a spot with the Cowboys and if he can continue to build on his rookie year, Gifford will have a role going forward.
Special teams is currently where Gifford can make his biggest mark, but don’t count him out on making an impact as a valuable back-up LB. On a team where its top three LB’s are among the best in the league, they also all have a history of injuries.
Lee, Smith and Vander Esch are hardly the picture of health and the defense needs as many good linebackers as they can spare. Gifford will be competing with Thomas, Justin March and undrafted rookie Francis Bernard to be one of the first men up if injuries beset the Cowboys starting LB’s.
It will be interesting to see how new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan utilizes Gifford. At 6-foot-3, and 245 pounds, where does he fit? Gifford did have seven sacks in his career at Nebraska and shows a relentless spirit while in pursuit of the ball, so there is some versatility to his game. Being a jack-of-all trades might be the most important asset Gifford provides.
With the injury history and uncertainty at LB in Dallas, expect Luke Gifford to make a strong case to become one of the top back-ups for the defense this upcoming season.
You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi.
This is part of our Countdown to the Regular Season player profile countdown. Up next is LB Luke Gifford.
| Antwaun Woods | Tyrone Crawford | Trysten Hill | Jalen Jelks |
| Dontari Poe | Randy Gregory | Gerald McCoy | Dorance Armstrong |
| L.P. Ladouceur | DeMarcus Lawrence | Blake Jarwin | CeeDee Lamb |
| Cole Hikutini | Dalton Schultz | Noah Brown | Sean McKeon |
| Ventell Bryant | Jon’vea Johnson | Blake Bell | Justin Hamilton |
| Cody Wichmann | Tyron Smith | Ladarius Hamilton |
| Neville Gallimore | Terence Steele | Joe Looney | La’el Collins |
| Zack Martin | Brandon Knight | Ron’Dell Carter | Wyatt Miller |
| Connor McGovern | Tyler Biadasz | Adam Redmond |
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