That's a mighty big "if". Unless his nerve heals, he's nowhere the player hitch has been.
Don't you think the Cowboys know more about Smith's healing process than we do? If you look at the tape, at the beginning of the year, Smith was playing tentatively, and favoring his injured leg. By the end of the year, his reads were better, he was playing with better leverage, and driving off both his legs when he tackled.
According to the Dr. reports that were available publicly, he was reported to be about 75% healed going into the season, but the projection was 100% healing by November, 2017. The nerve regeneration was independent of him playing or not playing, and the ACL and LCL tears were 100% at the beginning of the year, which is why it was not deemed a risk to let him play.
I'm not a doctor, so I can only rely on what was reported publicly. But if the reports ARE true, then his nerve regeneration is likely complete, and he's had a year of getting acclimated to the NFL. We have every reason to believe he could have a break out year if he plays to the talent level he was projected to have in his final college season before the injury.
Until he proves otherwise, I'm choosing to make my expectations similar to what they'd be for a 2nd year, top 10 draft pick, with one year of experience under his belt. Might I be setting myself up for disappointment? Sure, but I've been disappointed before, and I'll get over it.
But what I'm not going to do is be in mourning over losing a journeyman linebacker like Anthony Hitchens to the Chiefs. Hitchens wasn't good enough to cry over. He was the Doug Free of the defense - landing a big Free agent contract after 4 seasons, while being an average player. I expect Hitchens to be a quality NFL player for 10 years, but he's not that hard to replace, and I believe that Smith WILL BE a substantial upgrade to him.
From a linebacker POV, I'm more concerned about replacing Sean Lee, who is 32 years old, and cannot stay healthy. I'm not that concerned about Smith's recovery.
