Jaylon Smith a pleasant distraction from distractions for Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys have plenty going on right now, but they have to be excited about what they are seeing from linebacker Jaylon Smith…

There’s plenty going on with the Dallas Cowboys right now off the field, so the development of linebacker Jaylon Smith is certainly a pleasant ‘distraction from the distractions’ so to speak.

Smith was injured in his final game at Notre Dame following the 2015-16 season, a meaningless bowl game that Smith really had no business playing in. In fact, players have started skipping bowl games to avoid the exact circumstance which cost Smith a shot at the top five picks.

Even worse, the injury Smith suffered was so gruesome, there were some who predicted he may never play football again. Thankfully, that does not appear to be the case…

This is absolutely one of the greatest stories of the 2017 season.

I’m about as optimistic of a person as you will meet, but after seeing Smith’s injury in comparison with the likes of Marcus Lattimore, I had my doubts we’d ever see him play again.

But, the Cowboys’ training staff has known Smith’s situation intimately from the start. They felt confident in using a high second round pick on him in the 2016 NFL Draft, and it appears as though they will be rewarded for that investment.

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If you put on your armchair general manager hat for a moment, consider the situation the Cowboys were in a year ago. They had a chance to get a guy who was probably a top five player. They invested a second round pick in 2016 to essentially give themselves a top five player in 2017.

To me, that’s sort of like trading a 2016 second round pick for a 2017 first rounder, if things work out.

Perhaps the Cowboys felt the same way.

Not to mention, his potential to get onto the field sooner than later is coming at a great time. Projected starter Damien Wilson could be facing league discipline after being arrested on assault charges.

Hopefully we see more from Smith as training camp and the preseason progress. This is a great football player who has worked his tail off to make his dreams come true after some serious adversity.