Jayden Laverde

Jayden Laverde (/ləˈvɜːdiː/ lə-VUR-dee;^[1] born 12 April 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited with the 20th overall selection in the 2014 national draft.^[2]

Jayden Laverde
Laverde playing for Essendon in 2025
Personal information
Full name	Jayden Laverde
Date of birth	(1996-04-12) 12 April 1996 (age 29)
Original team(s)	Western Jets (TAC Cup)
Draft	No. 20, 2014 national draft
Height	193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	91 kg (201 lb)
Position(s)	Key Defender
Club information
Current club	Essendon
Number	15
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2015–	Essendon	131 (38)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Laverde playing for Essendon in 2018

Laverde started his career playing for the Keilor Football Club playing all his junior years there. as a young age he was touted for his athleticism and uniqueness.^{[citation needed]}

Laverde played for the Western Jets in the TAC Cup^[3] and the Keilor Football Club.^[4] He was named All-Australian in the AFL Under 18 Championships, playing for Vic Metro.^[5] He made his AFL debut against Melbourne in round 15 of the 2015 AFL season.^[6]

AFL career

Laverde was drafted with pick 20 in the 2014 national draft. In 2015, his first season at Essendon, he played nine games and kicked five goals. In 2016 he suffered an ankle injury and was sidelined for eight weeks.

Originally starting his career as a forward, in the 2021 AFL season his career was reinvigorated with a move to defence.^[7]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of 2023^[8]

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2015	Essendon	33	9	5	1	49	68	117	32	34	0.6	0.1	5.4	7.6	13.0	3.6	3.8
2016	Essendon	33	9	8	9	64	41	105	43	26	0.9	1.0	7.1	4.6	11.7	4.8	2.9
2017	Essendon	33	5	1	5	26	30	56	16	14	0.2	1.0	5.2	6.0	11.2	3.2	2.8
2018	Essendon	33	7	5	6	54	37	91	27	18	0.7	0.9	7.7	5.3	13.0	3.9	2.6
2019	Essendon	15	10	11	13	66	48	114	39	21	1.1	1.3	6.6	4.8	11.4	3.9	2.1
2020[a]	Essendon	15	6	6	3	30	16	46	20	15	0.3	0.5	5.0	2.7	7.7	3.3	2.5
2021	Essendon	15	23	1	0	202	116	318	134	35	0.0	0.0	8.8	5.0	13.8	5.8	1.5
2022	Essendon	15	22	0	1	190	123	313	137	45	0.0	0.0	8.6	5.6	14.2	6.2	2.0
2023	Essendon	15	19	1	0	186	115	301	124	37	0.1	0.0	9.8	6.1	15.8	6.5	1.9
2024	Essendon	15	21	0	0	194	139	333	127	33	0.0	0.0	9.2	6.6	15.9	6.1	1.6
Career			131	38	38	1061	733	1794	699	278	0.3	0.3	8.1	5.6	13.7	5.3	2.1

Notes

1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.