Jaylon Smith and Sean Spence/Robert Edwards

[FuzzyLumpkins]

These are not 100% proof, but seems to be a lot of "smoke", so is there a fire?

May 7 (~4 months after surgery) - Jaylon comment:
He said the tingling down his leg and into his foot continues to advance, which can indicate the nerve axons are growing.

August 1 - Jaylon comment:
Smith said he has progressed to some lateral movements and some vertical running but reiterated there’s no timetable for a return.

October 3
Jaylon tweets "Oh lord, thank you"

Couple days after October
Jaylon agreed with interviewer that tweets could lead to misunderstanding about his recovery..., though he said he is still waiting on nerve...

October 10
Jaylon tweets picture of himself playing on the ground with 2 little kids, wearing shoes with no brace.

October 11
Jaylon tweets "Gods timing"

October 11 (~9 months after surgery) - Gil Brandt after dinner with Jaylon
Gil Brandt: He's feeling good. I think that he could come back later on this season, maybe the 13th-14th game of the season. Now he's doing everything. He tells me he's cutting on it and so forth.

I rewatched all the interviews etc and what I think is that he was first able to flex the muscle back a month ago or so and he's been rehabbing it ever since. He's progressed to the point where he doesn't need the brace to walk around in the last couple of weeks and when he can do the cords without the brace is when they will return him to practice.

 

[waldoputty]

I rewatched all the interviews etc and what I think is that he was first able to flex the muscle back a month ago or so and he's been rehabbing it ever since. He's progressed to the point where he doesn't need the brace to walk around in the last couple of weeks and when he can do the cords without the brace is when they will return him to practice.

Fuzzy - i missed that - can you provide link about flexing the muscle?
Flexing the muscle means nerve regeneration right?

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Serious needs
DE, CB then depending on Jaylon also LB
WR then for development RT/G

If we retain the corners on the roster now we are in good shape. That is 4 of them that can start.

With Lee, Smith, Nzeocha, Hitchens, Wilson, Gachkar, and Wilber under contract LB isn't much of a need.

DL is kinda weird. We have frontline guys with 98 and 90 at DE but still could use another speed rusher on the edge. I'm still thinking that the best value we are going to find at the end of the first round is at WR. Then again guys like Ogbah and DLaw do fall down there.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Fuzzy - i missed that - can you provide link about flexing the muscle?
Flexing the muscle means nerve regeneration right?

He hasn't given a straight answer. That is just my reading of the tea leaves from his innuendo and reaction to questions.

One thing I am certain of is that if he isn't wearing the brace then he can flex the muscle.

 

[waldoputty]

If we retain the corners on the roster now we are in good shape. That is 4 of them that can start.

With Lee, Smith, Nzeocha, Hitchens, Wilson, Gachkar, and Wilber under contract LB isn't much of a need.

DL is kinda weird. We have frontline guys with 98 and 90 at DE but still could use another speed rusher on the edge. I'm still thinking that the best value we are going to find at the end of the first round is at WR. Then again guys like Ogbah and DLaw do fall down there.

I dont think we can retainer Mo and Romo and sign top DE FA.

For 2017, committed is $174,439,938 with project cap of $168,185,113 ($6,254,825)
Mo may demand $10-15mil per year.
DE FA will cost $15mil per year also.
If we June 1 TCrawford, it would only save $5 mil.

I believe both Church and Wilcox are FA also
And we are going to want to sign Martin long term

 

[waldoputty]

And this looks to be the makings of a stellar draft class

If Jaylon recovers, this would be equivalent to 3 out of 5 of the top 5 players in the draft.
Wentz would be another one, but cannot name a fifth.

 

[Silver Surfer]

The way I look at the Jaylon Smith situation is that the Cowboys traded their 2nd round pick in the 2016 Draft for a guaranteed pick in the top five in the 2017 Draft.

 

[Cowboy06]

If you go with the upper limit on that guess, we are looking at April/May 2017, just in time to get in conditioning before training camp.

​

 

[Cowboy06]

The way I look at the Jaylon Smith situation is that the Cowboys traded their 2nd round pick in the 2016 Draft for a guaranteed pick in the top five in the 2017 Draft.

let's hope it works out that way and he has a long and productive career. If he works out, I hope we get a few more big guys in front of him so that he can be a tackling machine.

 

[skinsscalper]

And this looks to be the makings of a stellar draft class

It's already a REALLY solid draft to begin with. You're right, if Smith recovers and returns to his athletic form, this draft went from really good to "stellar". Man, I'm pulling so hard for this kid.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

It's already a REALLY solid draft to begin with. You're right, if Smith recovers and returns to his athletic form, this draft went from really good to "stellar". Man, I'm pulling so hard for this kid.

2 starters in a draft class is treading water. 3 is ahead of the curve.

We have 3 starters from this class playing at a high level already and 4 if you include Brown. If Smith pans out this will rival the 2004 class and if anyone else hits it will rival any draft in the 7 round era.

 

[skinsscalper]

2 starters in a draft class is treading water. 3 is ahead of the curve.

We have 3 starters from this class playing at a high level already and 4 if you include Brown. If Smith pans out this will rival the 2004 class and if anyone else hits it will rival any draft in the 7 round era.

Man, Fuzzy, if Tapper AND Collins come through to be what we'd hoped from those picks, Frazier takes over for Church or Wilcox, Dak and Zeke both being what we all know they will be, AND Smith comes back? I think you'd have a pretty hard time coming up with a better draft in the last 25 years+ for ANY team in the NFL.

Heck to just throw a little salt in the wounds of our division foes, it would be a kick if we turned Gathers into something as well. McClay and Co. have done an outstanding job this past off-season in the pre-draft evals and we haven't even had the pleasure of reaping all the rewards yet. It's the kind of thing that us die-hards DREAM about every off-season, yet never seems to materialize. Fun to be Cowboys fan, these days.

 

[RS12]

Cooper said Smith would likely need a redshirt season and that the nerve injury takes nine to 15 months to fully recover.

Wish I had seen this time frame before. Not gonna give this much more thought at this point.

 

[waldoputty]

2 starters in a draft class is treading water. 3 is ahead of the curve.

We have 3 starters from this class playing at a high level already and 4 if you include Brown. If Smith pans out this will rival the 2004 class and if anyone else hits it will rival any draft in the 7 round era.

IMO, Dak by himself being franchise QB would make 2016 draft ahead of the curve...

If Smith hits, it would like 3 top 5 picks.
Add Collins, Brown - that would rival any draft in recent history.
And you still have Tapper, Jackson, Frazier and Gather that could work out.

Other than Zeke's $6M salary, all their salaries are pretty low.
This could set up our salary cap for 5 years.
WE would only need add a DE, WR and CB next year, with backups at G and RT

Gathers is actually my pet cat - 280lb TE that can run a 4.75 - former basketball rebounding forward that sounds like he can catch. Though have not player football for years, hard to believe 280lb cannot be taught to block.

 

[waldoputty]

Wish I had seen this time frame before. Not gonna give this much more thought at this point.

lol, but there are signs that Jaylon can play later in the season.
I would not discount this.
However, the most important thing is he comes back 100% and not risk injury.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Anytime you can find your potential future franchise QB in your draft class, it instantly makes that year's class a win.

 

[Rockdoc]

Fuzzy - i missed that - can you provide link about flexing the muscle?
Flexing the muscle means nerve regeneration right?

without knowing the exact specifics
u need nerve firing to get a muscle to flex
so if the muscle we are talking about is fired by the nerve we were waiting for then yes there has been an improvement
that muscle would then need to strengthened which it will now that it is conttracting on command.
the muscle would fatigue quickly early on which is why it still takes some time but this would be the next big step we are waiting on.

 

[MileyDancer]

Until he proves me wrong, this is just another wasted 2nd round pick to me.

Of course, all the homers are suddenly nerve experts and know for a fact he will return to the player he once was.

 

[Silver Surfer]

IMO, Dak by himself being franchise QB would make 2016 draft ahead of the curve...

Other than Zeke's $6M salary, all their salaries are pretty low.
This could set up our salary cap for 5 years.

.... and give us a chance to lock up a dominant offensive line.

 

[waldoputty]

This could be one of the best drafts ever. Not just for the Cowboys. Ok. The Stealers with all the hall of famers was pretty good. But...

For ROUGH comparison:

Cowboys - 1st round 'equivalents':
2010 - Dez
2011 - TSmith
2012 - Mo
2013 - TFred
2014 - Martin
2015 - Jones, Collins, Gregory (likely bust)
2016 - Zeke, Jaylon (knock on wood), Dak

Steelers Hall of Famers - 1974 epic draft put them over the top:
1969 - Joe Greene, LC Greenwood (pro bowler only)
1970 - Terry Bradshaw, Mel Blount
1971 - Jack Ham
1972 - Franco Harris
1973 - JT Thomas (pro bowler only)
1974 - Mike Webster, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Jack Lambert