Through three rounds of the draft, Smith is one of six Notre Dame players taken. You only had to see him celebrate with family and friends (watch it here: http://bit.ly/1NHEfRz ) to know how special. The pick was a shocker, with many people expecting Dallas to select Florida State’s Jalen Ramsey.
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During his time at Notre Dame, Smith won the 2015 Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker. Once he reads the play, he’s extremely quick to the football and his technique at doing so is near impeccable.
Again, this pick could be a bust if the injury doesn’t heal, but it can also be a move that could give the Cowboys one of the most talented defensive players to declare in recent years. Smith promised to add his name to that list. “This is my 25th year of being a head coach and if you define “generation” as 20 to 30 years, I’ve never had a kid of this caliber, both as a football player and as a competitor”. He had a team-leading 114 tackles with nine tackles for loss.
Behind an offensive line that includes three Pro Bowlers in left tackle Tyron Smith, center Travis Frederick and guard Zack Martin, Elliott will be an instant impact player in Dallas.
Smith was going to be a top-10 and possibly a top-5 pick initially, but a awful knee injury ruined that hope as he’s now going to miss at least the 2016 season and there’s no word on when he’ll ever fully be healthy.
Just don’t bet on it.
While Jones had denied the report that the Cowboys were interested in drafting a quarterback in the first round, Max Rapoport of the NFL Network claims that the team had serious interest in Wentz and Lynch. The Cowboys were able to feel good enough about the condition of Smith’s surgically-repaired knee now and what it will be in the future.
The Dallas Cowboys grabbed some help for their defense, even though Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith likely won’t contribute until 2017 because of a major knee injury.
And yet, there are some organizations who have taken him off their draft board entirely. And it’s just the third QB drafted by the Cowboys since 2001.
As noted above, we’ll see. The same nerve issue has caused the end of many careers, not just Lattimore’s.
“I’ve heard about that and I’m honored that he believes that”, Elliott said at an introductory news conference on Friday at Valley Ranch.
They were said to like Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, but the Cleveland Browns took him with the first pick of the second round. It was a calculated, cold-blooded business decision, an attempt to get a potential franchise defender at a cost few of their rivals were willing to consider.
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You can make a case that every draft selection is a risk-reward proposition, but there’s no denying that some are, well, risky-er.
