Jayden Laverde

Jayden Laverde ( ; born 12 April 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer who currently plays for in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previous played eleven seasons for the Essendon Football Club. He was recruited with the 20th overall selection in the 2014 national draft.

Early life

Laverde played as a junior at Keilor Football Club and played for the Western Jets in the TAC Cup. He was named All-Australian in the AFL Under 18 Championships, playing for Vic Metro.

AFL career Laverde was drafted by with pick 20 in the 2014 national draft. He made his AFL debut against in round 15 of the 2015 AFL season. In his first season, 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.

Laverde played 145 games for Essendon over 11 seasons, before he was delisted at the end of the 2025 AFL season.

Laverde joined on the first day of the 2025/26 Supplemental Selection Period.

Statistics Updated to the end of round 22, 2026.

164 !! 38 !! 39 !! 1351 !! 929 !! 2280 !! 902 !! 343 !! 0.2 !! 0.2 !! 8.2 !! 5.7 !! 13.9 !! 5.5 !! 2.1 !! 0