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Report: Jaylon Smith ‘looking good,’ could play final quarter of season

Jaylon Smith
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Fans of the Dallas Cowboys may be seeing second round draft pick Jaylon Smith sooner than expected. According to NFL.com’s Gil Brandt, it would not be surprising to see Smith on the field at the end of the season.

This is fantastic news for Dallas.

Smith’s talent is unquestioned. Were it not for an injury suffered early in the Fiesta Bowl, the Notre Dame linebacker would have been one of the first players chosen in the 2016 NFL Draft. The injury, of course, dropped the Butkus Award winner into the second round.

The ACL and LCL tears were significant, but it was the nerve damage he suffered that cast a huge doubt over Smith’s football future. A recent report indicated there was no significant improvement to that damage, but Brandt’s news removes a huge cloud of doubt.

If he looks good now and 2016 action is even remotely possible, his chances for 2017 and beyond are very good.

Drafting a player with injury concerns in the second round is a risk. If Smith’s injuries reoccur, then the Cowboys will have effectively wasted a high pick. If however he comes back strong, then Dallas got a steal.

Right now, it seems like the selection of Jaylon Smith falls into the latter category.

If Smith does play in the final quarter of the season, as Brandt suggests, then he could potentially debut on the road against the New York Giants on Dec. 11.

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