jday
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When Jaylon Smith inevitably takes the field at some point during the preseason, which kicks off in just over three weeks, he will be playing live football for the first time in over 19 months. That’s nearly 600 days, a lifetime in football standards, and in that time the Smith story, which took a detour with his gruesome injury on January 1, 2016, has taken on a life of its own.
There has been plenty of exaggeration, both positive and negative when it comes to Smith post-injury. Some have speculated that he may never play a single NFL snap. Others will have you believe that if not for the injury he would have been in contention to go first overall in the 2016 draft. Neither of those are especially realistic claims, although what is undeniable is that Smith was an elite talent at Notre Dame and was as close to an ironclad lock to being a top 10 pick as you can get at the 4-3 linebacker position. If he had tested as well as he played he would have been a strong possibility in the top five, although it certainly was not a guarantee considering that he plays a non-premium position.
Either way, he clearly projected to the next level as a truly special player. Nobody knows how close he can get to reaching that potential after the injury, but before we head into training camp and the preseason where his every movement will be under a microscope let’s take a look back at what made him a unique talent.
Read the rest: https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/201...-notre-dame-dallas-cowboys-defense-linebacker
When Jaylon Smith inevitably takes the field at some point during the preseason, which kicks off in just over three weeks, he will be playing live football for the first time in over 19 months. That’s nearly 600 days, a lifetime in football standards, and in that time the Smith story, which took a detour with his gruesome injury on January 1, 2016, has taken on a life of its own.
There has been plenty of exaggeration, both positive and negative when it comes to Smith post-injury. Some have speculated that he may never play a single NFL snap. Others will have you believe that if not for the injury he would have been in contention to go first overall in the 2016 draft. Neither of those are especially realistic claims, although what is undeniable is that Smith was an elite talent at Notre Dame and was as close to an ironclad lock to being a top 10 pick as you can get at the 4-3 linebacker position. If he had tested as well as he played he would have been a strong possibility in the top five, although it certainly was not a guarantee considering that he plays a non-premium position.
Either way, he clearly projected to the next level as a truly special player. Nobody knows how close he can get to reaching that potential after the injury, but before we head into training camp and the preseason where his every movement will be under a microscope let’s take a look back at what made him a unique talent.
Read the rest: https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/201...-notre-dame-dallas-cowboys-defense-linebacker
