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http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/03/06/myles-garrett-combine-cleveland-browns-nfl-draft
Jaylon Smith’s Drop Foot
Photo: Max Faulkner/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS via Getty Images
Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith is still recovering from the serious knee injury he suffered in his final collegiate game at Notre Dame.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told Dallas reporters on Saturday that 2016 second-round pick Jaylon Smith would be able to play in the fall with the help of an AFO (ankle/foot orthoses) brace.
Now, the whole truth, as I understand it: The team very much views any and everything it gets from Smith in 2017 as a bonus. In last year’s draft, nerve damage and a resulting case of drop foot knocked Smith, previously a potential top-5 pick, out of the first-round altogether. The nerve has started firing again, and he’s gained foot activation, but he’s nowhere close to full strength and may never get there.
Can he be effective playing with the brace? This sounds harsh, but it’s unlikely.
The brace is designed to allow the most basic of things—your foot to clear the ground when you take a step forward. It’s designed to stabilize but it doesn’t recreate the energy you normally generate when you push off your foot. And that’s why Dr. Thomas Gill, the former Patriots team doc who saw ex-New England RB Robert Edwards go through this scenario almost two decades ago, is skeptical on Smith.
“A hinged AFO will allow you to have your foot flex up, but not have it slap down,” Gill said over the weekend. “So basically you wear a brace so when you’re running or walking, your foot can have clearance when you swing your leg forward. But it’s not built for speed.
“Robert Edwards, he played with it for a while but lasted less than a season doing that. And he was a running back. You have to be a freakish athlete where you can afford to lose 20 or 25 percent of your speed, at least, and 45 percent of your power, and still be able to compete in the NFL.”
And playing with the ailment isn’t without risk, either.
“The risk is that you’re going to be more prone to injury. Your foot’s going to get caught in an awkward position,” Gill continued. “So if you’re in a pile-up, you know the classic high ankle sprain mechanism where the guy falls on the back of your leg? That leg’s going to be a lot more prone to getting caught in an awkward position, because he can’t point his toe.”
Now there’s a chance the nerve improves over time and Smith gets back to full speed down the line. But Dallas isn’t counting on anything like that in the short term.
Jaylon Smith’s Drop Foot
Photo: Max Faulkner/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS via Getty Images
Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith is still recovering from the serious knee injury he suffered in his final collegiate game at Notre Dame.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told Dallas reporters on Saturday that 2016 second-round pick Jaylon Smith would be able to play in the fall with the help of an AFO (ankle/foot orthoses) brace.
Now, the whole truth, as I understand it: The team very much views any and everything it gets from Smith in 2017 as a bonus. In last year’s draft, nerve damage and a resulting case of drop foot knocked Smith, previously a potential top-5 pick, out of the first-round altogether. The nerve has started firing again, and he’s gained foot activation, but he’s nowhere close to full strength and may never get there.
Can he be effective playing with the brace? This sounds harsh, but it’s unlikely.
The brace is designed to allow the most basic of things—your foot to clear the ground when you take a step forward. It’s designed to stabilize but it doesn’t recreate the energy you normally generate when you push off your foot. And that’s why Dr. Thomas Gill, the former Patriots team doc who saw ex-New England RB Robert Edwards go through this scenario almost two decades ago, is skeptical on Smith.
“A hinged AFO will allow you to have your foot flex up, but not have it slap down,” Gill said over the weekend. “So basically you wear a brace so when you’re running or walking, your foot can have clearance when you swing your leg forward. But it’s not built for speed.
“Robert Edwards, he played with it for a while but lasted less than a season doing that. And he was a running back. You have to be a freakish athlete where you can afford to lose 20 or 25 percent of your speed, at least, and 45 percent of your power, and still be able to compete in the NFL.”
And playing with the ailment isn’t without risk, either.
“The risk is that you’re going to be more prone to injury. Your foot’s going to get caught in an awkward position,” Gill continued. “So if you’re in a pile-up, you know the classic high ankle sprain mechanism where the guy falls on the back of your leg? That leg’s going to be a lot more prone to getting caught in an awkward position, because he can’t point his toe.”
Now there’s a chance the nerve improves over time and Smith gets back to full speed down the line. But Dallas isn’t counting on anything like that in the short term.
