When the Dallas Cowboys shocked the world and selected linebacker Jaylon Smith early in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, most could not picture a day where he would be going through drills without a brace on his injured knee.
Well, as has been previously reported, that day is now.
New footage has emerged of Jaylon Smith moving laterally without the brace, posted to Youtube by “Cowboys Fan Club.” And to say he looks smooth doing so would be an understatement.
The 50 second video clip above shows Jaylon Smith looking rather explosive laterally, something we feared he may never be able to do again. When at his best Smith was able to utilize his athleticism and range, and if he can get those attributes all the way back the Cowboys linebacker group will be in very good shape.
Combining him with the athletic Leighton Vander Esch and consistent Sean Lee would be a solid trio of linebackers in 2018. Of course, there is a lot of time between now and the opening game against the Carolina Panthers, however, but it’s okay to be excited about his progress.
Let’s hope Jaylon Smith continues to progress as the offseason moves along and we inch closer to the 2018 season.
I was still a little salty about losing Hitchens but seeing this video and the drafting of LVE, im starting to feel whole lot better
Looking good 54 but the thing that we need to see him taking blows from NFL linemen. I have the same questions about 55 but for entirely different reasons.
Looking good
i love this kid and his work ethic he and LVE are the future of this defense…keep eating Jaylon im rooting for you
Imho, the Cowboys defense of 2018, and beyond , will be like the Cowboys defense of the glory days of the 70’s and 90’s. The Cowboys defense, will no longer be the Cowboys defense of the last 17 seasons, where doing close games in the balance , it breaks, and ends up losing games, it should have won, last season-rams, packers, seahawks, games. With Richard, eventually, taking over, the next 6 seasons, should be exciting for Cowboys nation.
This kid is a hero and a legend as a man even if he only plays 1st downs the rest of his career. What mental strength….
Truly see his blessings as he has recovered.
Clear Eye View – Definitely.
A few fellow Cowboy friends are still not giving him props.
They are saying, “He isn’t in pads…I’ll reserve judgement until he is in pads”…smh
You can see his lateral movement. Much improved.
You can see him putting weight on his foot without hesitation. Impressive.
Hopefully, Sean Lee is tutoring both Lee and Jaylon on the intricacies of NFL play. Tape, tape and more tape.
This is Jaylon’s 3rd year under contract, but last year he was basically a rookie.
Does anyone see a sophomore slump? I don’t.
I see a LB corp that potentially could be very scary!
I have more concerns about Vander Esch than Smith, I’ve watched extensive film of Vander Esch and he is stiff and overruns a lot of tackles. He was a no star recruit out of high school and only started 1 year at Boise State. Taco Charlton had 1 decent year at Michigan and he was a wasted #1 pick and I don’t beleive the Cowboys did their due diligence in scouting these two guys. Some folks say Vander Esch is athletic because he has decent speed, athletic he is not, he does not possess the nimbleness to adjust his body, he is a straight line runner and that’s why he misses so many tackles attempting to arm tackle. I would hope that the Cowboys go after Kendricks to be safe.
Just saw a Twitter video by Bryan Broaddus, where he had checked with a few folks and there was no news of any interest in acquiring Kendricks so far in Dallas