Latest Jaylon Smith Injury News Could Shift Top of NFL Draft

There was a collective gasp when the news hit that Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith was carted off the field at the Fiesta Bowl with what looked to be a gruesome knee injury.  Initial fears indicated he would require extensive surgery to repair it and might even miss the entire 2016 season.  Never mind the catastrophic effect in could hand on his NFL draft stock, costing him millions of dollars.

However, the skies have brightened considerably since those dark days.  Word from the doctors was that the surgery was a complete success and there were no signs of nerve damage.  Barring an unlikely complication, he’s expected to make a full recovery.  Initial estimates said he could be back by midseason this year.

However, draft expert Matt Miller revealed it might not even be that long.

Considering he tore two ligaments in the knee (ACL and LCL), this is fantastic news for him personally, and a testament to the work he and the doctors put in mixed with some good fortune.  The one question now is what will this do to draft boards around the league?

Prior to the injury, Smith was a consensus top 10 pick according to every credible source.  His physical ability mixed with mental awareness was rare for linebackers.  The knee situation delivered a sizable hit to it as he dropped in some cases all the way out of the 1st round conversation.  Now that teams know he could play the entire season, how high can he climb back up?

Much of it depends on when he can start training and practicing again in able to test out that knee.  However, based on the recent success of running back Todd Gurley, who also entered the draft with a torn ACL but still went 10th overall to the Rams and made the Pro Bowl, it might be enough to lower the guard of several teams at the top of the board.

San Diego, Dallas, Miami and Chicago all have needs at that position.  It would only take one of them to be willing to take the plunge.