Jaylon Smith

Smith's draft stock took a hit on New Year's Day when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament and lateral collateral ligament in the Fighting Irish's Fiesta Bowl loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes, but still he opted to declare early for the 2016 NFL Draft. He is recovering after surgery and his return to football in 2016, or ever, remains in question, making his projection vastly different among NFL teams. At issue is a six-inch long area of stretched nerve that takes a month per inch to heal, if it heals. He is approximately three months into rehab, and wears an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) device to combat drop-foot. Smith is working out diligently, but there are no guarantees. This is a blow to a player -- and any NFL team that wanted him -- whose various abilities are compared to Patrick Willis and Von Miller. Smith was an every-down linebacker who held up against running plays and showed great instincts covering receivers. Smith is Notre Dame's top tackler since 2014 with crazy closing speed that usually ended with a violent hit. "No, the nerve wasn't stretched at all. It's just the healing game, that's all," Smith said at the NFL Combine. "It's a process. I'll be back 100 percent. We just don't know when." A player who Irish coach Brian Kelly said is the best he has ever coached, Smith was a consensus All-American in 2015. He tied his career high with 9.0 tackles for loss to go along with a career-high 115 tackles, a sack, five passes defensed and two fumble recoveries in 13 games before suffering his knee injury. That came on the heels of 111 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and a pair of passes defensed as a sophomore.

smith lacks elite take-on strength for the position and can be late to stack-and-shed. will take some false steps and needs to add a dash of discipline to his playing recipe. needs to tweak his strike zone and tackling mechanics, preferring to hug-and-slam instead of spearing and driving.

Needs to do a better job finding the ball in coverage once his back is turned to the quarterback. Suffered a devastating left knee injury in his final collegiate contest that required surgery (Jan. 2016) to repair a torn ACL and LCL.

it is the ability to play back in coverage and rush the passer that makes smith such an exciting prospect, as proponents of the 4-3 and 3-4, alike, will see him as a true three down defender.

WEAKNESSES

he reads plays quickly and keeps his eyes glued on the ball to collect himself in space and burst toward the ballcarrier with excellent closing speed. shows tremendous secondary quickness to unhook himself from blocks and make up ground in a flash.

He might be the nation's most forceful tackler, generating incredible power to knock ballcarriers back. Smith is every bit as fast and fluid as he is powerful, however, slipping by (or leaping over) would-be blockers in the running game and dropping effectively in coverage.

in our view

In today's ultra-specialized NFL, defenses routinely substitute powerful linebackers on running downs and faster, more agile defenders on obvious passing plays. Teams won't have to swap Smith out, however. He started all 39 games the last three seasons, but in a cruel twist of fate, Smith suffered a serious knee injury in the Fiesta Bowl, putting his draft stock in limbo based on his rehab.

strengths

He is a greased up athlete with natural twitch and flexibility, showing balance, burst and excellent speed in pursuit. Scouts are enthralled with Smith's explosiveness and it isn't difficult to understand why.

before the knee injury this was a no-brainer. now, some team must want smith enough to spend a pick and roll the dice. he cannot realistically be in the plans to play in 2016. if he overcomes the injury, the upside is tremendous -- in the all-pro neighborhood.

--Dane Brugler & Rob Rang (4/25/16)