Winners and Losers from the NFL Combine
Loser – Jaylon Smith
Jaylon Smith is a Combine loser, not by poor performance or unwillingness to participate, but because of the unveiling of the extent of his knee injury. During the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day, the Notre Dame linebacker suffered a terrible knee injury, tearing the ACL and LCL in his left knee (there are videos online, but they are tough to watch. I won’t post it here). During testing and medical examinations before on-field drills, it was revealed that there is ankle and nerve issues in that leg, and Smith will likely miss the entire 2016 season, at minimum.
Before the injury, Smith was considered one of the best linebackers in the draft along with UCLA backer Myles Jack, and a virtual guarantee to be a very early draft pick. The initial injury didn’t seem to cause much concern for his draft stock, as he was still seen as a first-round pick, but the newest developments certainly hurt him. The NFL Network’s Albert Breer provided a comparison for the injury, pointing out that this is a similar ordeal to former South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore’s knee problems when he came out for the draft in 2013. One NFL defensive coordinator went so far as to say he “can’t take that risk…at all” regarding drafting Smith.
This is devastating for Smith, a wildly talented young man who had (and may still have) a future brighter than the sun. A team would have to be extremely confident in Smith and his rehabilitation process, and mildly insane, to spend a first-round pick on him at this point. With the pure talent that Smith possesses, it’s unlikely he goes completely undrafted, as a team will want to take a chance on picking him up with a late-round flyer. Lattimore was drafted in the fourth round at 131st overall in 2013, but never played a down in the NFL before announcing his retirement in the middle of the 2014 season.
Had it not been the injury being further clarified, there’s almost no way Smith would have been a loser at the Combine. He wouldn’t have participated in drills anyway, considering he was still on crutches just a few weeks ago. Instead, it was worst case scenario for the once-surefire first-rounder.
Next: Big Man, Big Combine