Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys: Jaylon Smith's Recovery Will Impact Draft, 2017 Season

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:09 p.m. ET

Fansided, Stephen Forsha/FanSided via NFL Spin Zone

The Dallas Cowboys are still waiting through the recovery of 2016 second-round pick Jaylon Smith, but how he'll play is both a mystery and important in 2017.

The case of Jaylon Smith's regenerating nerves in his knee enters Year 2 with the Dallas Cowboys. Depending on who you listen to, there is great hope this season that Smith, even with a brace on the knee, can produce at a respectable NFL level in what would be his rookie season on the field.

Smith missed all of last year while rehabbing the injured suffered in the Fiesta Bowl, his final game at Notre Dame. The sure first-round pick fell to the Cowboys in the second round. They drafted him without hesitation and while knowing he'd miss the 2016 season.

Now, no one knows with certainty what type of player Smith will be. Will he recapture that first-round talent, or be something lesser? During his junior season, Smith totaled 114 tackles, 69 solo, with one sack and one forced fumble. In his sophomore year, Smith made a name for himself with 111 tackles, 64 solo, with 3.5 sacks and one forced fumble.

The player Smith was at the collegiate level may never return. But if he can learn to play with a brace on his knee and stay healthy throughout his first season on the field, the Cowboys will have made the right choice in drafting him in Round 2 last year.

On the other hand, there are those who would disagree with the above statement, one being Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Engel had this to say recently regarding Smith:

"Until the Cowboys can watch Jaylon Smith play a football game, or even participate in a full football practice, where he hits other football players, the best plan is just to assume he is done."

Drew Davidson, also of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, quoted Jerry Jones on Smith's current recovery status:

"His doctors are very encouraged," Jones said. "They are very excited about his feelings, about his feelings in his foot area."

Sight unseen, the Cowboys pushing all their second-round chips into the middle of the table with the selection of Smith last season was worth it. Though no player has ever had great success with the brace, think about what folks said about Adrian Peterson when he returned from his knee injuries a few seasons ago. Nobody had ever recovered in the way he did, either.

Smith will have to prove many people wrong when he takes the field. His nerve is said to be regenerating. At this point, that is all fans of the Cowboys can hope for. Making it onto the field in 2017 should be considered a success for Smith. But there's still the hope that he can also contribute to a linebacker corps lacking depth.

If Smith isn't recovering the way he needs to and Jones is just talking Smith's recovery up to the media, then we'll most likely see that play out in the 2017 NFL Draft. The draft always has a way of tipping a team's hand, and that's especially true here. As for now, Smith still hasn't played a down in the NFL and is still recovering — and cautious optimism remains the best approach to watching the process unfold.