Jaylon Smith doing drills without brace
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lostxn
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Jaylon Smith's workouts may determine Cowboys' thirst for drafting a LB
By: K.D. Drummond | April 20, 2018 1:03 pm ET
The Dallas Cowboys have made it pretty clear they will be considering a linebacker during next week’s NFL Draft. Alabama’s Rashaan Evans and Boise State’s Leighton Vander Esch are among a handful of favorites to be the first-round selection. The premise is that Kris Richard, new passing game coordinator and in some people’s eyes the de facto DC, will be looking at increasing the role linebackers play in Dallas’ defense. It also must be mentioned that the two upper echelon linebackers currently on the Cowboys’ roster have injury concerns.
Sean Lee has made a habit of missing time and there’s no guarantee Jaylon Smith will recover his form from Notre Dame after his tragic knee injury.
With those two being question marks health-wise, it makes sense the Cowboys would look to add a high-pedigree player at the position if they are looking to increase the groups importance and diverge from the league-wide trend in the opposite direction.
Something could change that, however. Starting this past Monday and continuing through next week, the Cowboys’ players are working out at the team facilities. No coaches are allowed to attend, but the strength and conditioning staff is there. They are all present to witness the live action that spawned these pictures.
Smith is out on the field working without any brace around his injured leg. That’s a huge step.
Many fans feel Smith improved as the 2017 season went on and wasn’t a liability when his snaps were limited. For one, that was incorrect. The Cowboys simply limited playing Smith in roles where he had been exposed over and over again when the depth at the position was scary low. Check out Bob Sturm’s piece at The Athletic.
The SAM almost never plays against 11 personnel, and 11 personnel takes the field on about 70% of snaps in the modern NFL. The idea that the Cowboys wanted to move Smith there is ominous, because regardless of what they say, they know he was not able to cover anyone in any sort of chase scheme in 2017. He may improve over the offseason, but Jaylon Smith cannot effectively change directions.
But what if during the offseason work Smith shows the ability to change direction that was sorely lacking from his game in 2017? The coaching staff isn’t there, but it would be naive to think they aren’t constantly on the phone with the training staff or have cameras taping the field so they can see what is going on.
What if Smith shows them enough to prove they will indeed have two upper echelon players at the position in 2018? Would that alter the Cowboys’ draft plan at linebacker?
They’d still need one, but would it take the option off the board for No. 19? Would they no longer consider taking two with their 10 picks?
The Cowboys, unwisely, invested in Smith on a wing and a prayer. Even if he turns into a Pro Bowl-caliber player, they still drafted him too high. However, if he’s ready to finally be a major contributor in his third season, spending big capital at the position could be overkill.
By: K.D. Drummond | April 20, 2018 1:03 pm ET
The Dallas Cowboys have made it pretty clear they will be considering a linebacker during next week’s NFL Draft. Alabama’s Rashaan Evans and Boise State’s Leighton Vander Esch are among a handful of favorites to be the first-round selection. The premise is that Kris Richard, new passing game coordinator and in some people’s eyes the de facto DC, will be looking at increasing the role linebackers play in Dallas’ defense. It also must be mentioned that the two upper echelon linebackers currently on the Cowboys’ roster have injury concerns.
Sean Lee has made a habit of missing time and there’s no guarantee Jaylon Smith will recover his form from Notre Dame after his tragic knee injury.
With those two being question marks health-wise, it makes sense the Cowboys would look to add a high-pedigree player at the position if they are looking to increase the groups importance and diverge from the league-wide trend in the opposite direction.
Something could change that, however. Starting this past Monday and continuing through next week, the Cowboys’ players are working out at the team facilities. No coaches are allowed to attend, but the strength and conditioning staff is there. They are all present to witness the live action that spawned these pictures.
Smith is out on the field working without any brace around his injured leg. That’s a huge step.
Many fans feel Smith improved as the 2017 season went on and wasn’t a liability when his snaps were limited. For one, that was incorrect. The Cowboys simply limited playing Smith in roles where he had been exposed over and over again when the depth at the position was scary low. Check out Bob Sturm’s piece at The Athletic.
The SAM almost never plays against 11 personnel, and 11 personnel takes the field on about 70% of snaps in the modern NFL. The idea that the Cowboys wanted to move Smith there is ominous, because regardless of what they say, they know he was not able to cover anyone in any sort of chase scheme in 2017. He may improve over the offseason, but Jaylon Smith cannot effectively change directions.
But what if during the offseason work Smith shows the ability to change direction that was sorely lacking from his game in 2017? The coaching staff isn’t there, but it would be naive to think they aren’t constantly on the phone with the training staff or have cameras taping the field so they can see what is going on.
What if Smith shows them enough to prove they will indeed have two upper echelon players at the position in 2018? Would that alter the Cowboys’ draft plan at linebacker?
They’d still need one, but would it take the option off the board for No. 19? Would they no longer consider taking two with their 10 picks?
The Cowboys, unwisely, invested in Smith on a wing and a prayer. Even if he turns into a Pro Bowl-caliber player, they still drafted him too high. However, if he’s ready to finally be a major contributor in his third season, spending big capital at the position could be overkill.
BipolarFuk
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Hopefully Sean Lee didn't get hurt right there.
Genghis Khan
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Feh. They still are desperate for linebackers regardless, or should be.
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Yeah I still have high hopes for Jaylon but I'm not holding out hope that we have that much time left with Lee. Even if he plays for a couple years he may get hurt for a few games. So essentially even if Jaylon is the stud I believe he can be you'd still want another high end LBer to be ready to replace him. I don't know if I'd use the word desperate but much like WR we need to come away from this draft with at least one good prospect and not just shots in the dark.
If not in the first you have to at least be thinking about Josey Jewell and Malik Jefferson types at least by the third round. Would have been really nice if Damien Wilson had developed more. I thought he flashed his second year with us. But last year he kind of fell back to JAG status.
If not in the first you have to at least be thinking about Josey Jewell and Malik Jefferson types at least by the third round. Would have been really nice if Damien Wilson had developed more. I thought he flashed his second year with us. But last year he kind of fell back to JAG status.
lostxn
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Hey this is good news. The kid works hard and should improve with more playing time. Mental should come along. The physical continuing to improve is just fantastic news. If he can play without a brace, he'll get his lateral movement back.
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Yeah the guy was essentially a rookie not playing at 100% physically. I think people get a little out of perspective when they assume a rookie LBer should just step on the field and be an instant stud with no adjustment period. It takes some time.
L.T. Fan
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Yes it does take time and if he conquers the brace then he can concentrate on improving reads and instinct coverage. The latter being the most important because it requires turning off pre conceptions about alignments and reacting to the opponents actual movements.
P_T
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What's that old lyric: "free your mind and your ass will follow"? I think once he is mentally "healed", his natural instincts will return. Hell, most players that suffer simple ACL tears normally take a full season before they return to form... and Smith's injury was more of the catastrophic nature.
BipolarFuk
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He sucks.
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P_T
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That's one of those songs where you can make up your own words, and they'll sound right. Kind of like Nirvana's: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Smitty
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It's not like Lee has another half decade left or anything. Most likely only a couple years. A first or second round pick, if they are a hit, will likely see the end of Lee's tenure way before their rookie deal expires.
And you need more than one starting caliber LB, as we've seen. So even if Smith pans out.... we still need one more future starter, badly.
Genghis Khan
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