Can Jaylon play SLB next season?

[Nightman]

He is playing like a whirling dervish right now.... his knee, the reads and responsibility is too much.... it will slow down for him

 

[LocimusPrime]

He sounds like a kid who had his entire career flash before his eyes and now that he's on the field, he's just happy to be there.

Someone on this board made a great point months and months ago basically saying you wonder just how much fight this kid would have in him given that he seems happy that he can actually walk and run and just step on the field given the horrendous injury he had and views that as a huge win for himself.

Good point. On a personal level being able to walk and run must feel like a tremendous accomplishment for him.

 

[Sydla]

Good point. On a personal level being able to walk and run must feel like a tremendous accomplishment for him.

Exactly. On it's face, it's ridiculous for him to say things like he's happy with how he's playing and being out there and making plays. Because he isn't really doing that. He's made like 2 plays in his entire season. LOL. The fumble on the blitz in the one game and in the first game against the Giants, he ran down Shepherd on a reverse. That's it.

But to him, the fact he's even out there and able to jump on a pile after a guy has been tackled might be a huge win in his head.

 

[pitt33]

I don't understand the mental mistakes.

By my own admission I do not closely follow college ball, but it seemed like around draft time NO ONE was saying that this guy might "not get it" when it comes to the mental side of the game. All of the chatter was about the leg injury.

Very weird to see him whiffing so badly in some of those post game clips. I know clips can be cherry picked but some of those are real head scratchers.

Prox...

I do remember reading an article where a scout said that "he is not the brightest kid". He was actually making reference to the nuances of playing LB in the NFL. Maybe that is his issue. Maybe he's having a real tough time with gap assignments and whatnot. But he did go to Notre Dame so there is that piece.

I wouldn't be surprised if they move him to another spot. After all, that is the organizations MO with many of their players.

 

[revospeed]

Jaylon Smith is not a good football player. Misses assignments and leaves his teammates out to dry. We need smart players. Josey Jewell, Roquan Smith, or that SC linebacker should be on our radar.

 

[john van brocklin]

Can Jaylon play SLB next season? I think he would be less exposed at SLB and could be used as a pass rusher from that position.

They would need to either re-sign Hitchens or find a legit MLB.

Other random thoughts on 2018:
I think they will sign 1 legit Free Agent but it won't be the very top tier. Maybe something like the Falcons did this year with Dontari Poe for 1 year, 8M.

They'll likely spend a little on a backup OT.

They'll need to do something at LB because I'm certain Hitchens will leave as a free agent considering they've already given Jaylon some snaps over Hitchens.

Starting positions:
Offense OK. Might draft TE or WR or OT.

LB - Hitchens likely gone, Lee not a 16 player and Jaylon not very good.

1tech - Collins playing out of position. If they get a legit 1tech, it can be a 3-man DT rotation with New Player, Collins and Irving. Maybe Irving occasionally plays DE.

RDE - Crawford has been OK. Taco might step up. Maybe Tapper. Probably use a mid round pick here.

Safety - They have options with Woods and Awuzie.

Conclusion: LB or 1tech only positions where they might target a starter in free agency.

How bout Jaylen at Waterboy, until he gets healthy ?
Are we trying to destroy this kids confidence?

 

[John813]

I think Frederick could beat him in the 3 cone drill.

Dude needs to get healthier to have a shot at actually being a quality NFL player.
Long term he should be moved to WOLB, if he can get his leg back to 100%

 

[xwalker]

How bout Jaylen at Waterboy, until he gets healthy ?
Are we trying to destroy this kids confidence?

SLB would put him up near the line. He could pass rush occasionally and would have less coverage responsibilities. They only use the SLB about 20% of the snaps which would limit the need to replace him.

 

[Jarv]

Make him a pass rusher, he seems to have the first step for it.

Agreed, I have been saying the same thing for months now!

 

[Direwolf63]

I think Jaylon's problem is that he has no idea what he's suppose to be doing out there. He seems lost. I don't think it has anything to do with his physical ability.

Which is really surprising. Even when he was rehabbing last year, he was in all the LB meetings. Taking notes. Watching film. Mentally, he should know this defense cold. What his keys are when a specific play is called, etc. He's been following around Sean Lee for a year and a half.

But he plays like he has no idea what's going on. I can understand the physical liabilities. But I see mental breakdowns constantly. That shouldn't happen.

 

[stiletto]

Jaylon Smith is not a good football player. Misses assignments and leaves his teammates out to dry. We need smart players. Josey Jewell, Roquan Smith, or that SC linebacker should be on our radar.

We basically need a complete LBer overhaul in my opinion. I love Sean Lee, one of my favorite players but the guy can't be counted on for a full season. He can stay on the team (play when he can) but we need at least two new stud LB'ers especially if Hitchens leaves. I'm not throwing Jaylon Smith away but I am not seeing anything that tells me he is going to be amazing. Just haven't seen it at any time, very concerning.

 

[GORICO]

He over runs plays because he cant cut and get back into the play or redirect the cut.

its SAD

 

[kumizi]

Now, it's quite possible that he'll never get 100% healthy and truly trust that leg. The fact he's shown no progress and improvement over 2/3rds a season makes me think he's trending towards a lost cause here.

yep

I think people need to be realistic that he's not just going through rookie struggles. Unless something significant changes physically, he's a bust.

 

[Sepia]

Agreed, I have been saying the same thing for months now!

 

[Nightman]

The only thing he has really done well is rush the passer

 

[Verdict]

Hitchens has always been a solid player. Under valued and needs to be re-signed.

Yeah, I was very "down" on the pick when it was made. I really thought he was too slow to be an effective linebacker in the NFL and thought we could get him a lot later in the draft, but he has really surprised me. It seem like he has Lee's football IQ which makes him play faster than he really is.

The Cowboys have been really high on certain guys like Shazier, Wagner, and some others and have been right about those players so that gives me hope that we can eventually get a few stud linebackers in the draft. Lee is getting old.

 

[wssaustin]

He can start with special teams. I don't think he spent enough time to learn the schemes.

 

[Verdict]

I can't explain it. Maybe the leg somehow distracts him mentally.

Serious question--- Do you think we currently could get better linebacker play from a backup than Jaylon? As bad as he seems to be playing you would think that we could improve over Jaylons current level of play at least temporarily using a young guy.

 

[Verdict]

I mean I just don't know what you've seen to make you think the team is going to step up in free agency in the near future. We're not looking at second tier, maybe fourth or fifth of we're lucky.

Every year is different.

 

[Verdict]

Good point. On a personal level being able to walk and run must feel like a tremendous accomplishment for him.

True. I wonder what the coaching staff is thinking with Jaylon. Do they think he is close enough that it will all come together by playoff time? Do they think he is kicking *** already and we are all wrong?