FRISCO, Texas – Owner/GM Jerry Jones never could quite get himself to say it at the time, but when the Dallas Cowboys selected Jaylon Smith in the second round of last year's draft, they knew he would need a redshirt year, so to speak.
Smith suffered a serious knee injury in his final game for Notre Dame that included nerve damage in his left knee. While some teams took Smith off the board, the Cowboys felt confident Smith would be able to play again in part because one of their physicians, Dr. Daniel Cooper, performed the surgery.
Smith spent his rookie season on the non-football injury list, but the Cowboys believe he will be ready to contribute in 2017.
Would the Cowboys consider taking risks on talented players in this year's draft even if they might not be 100 percent ready for Week 1?
Tight end Jake Butt suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his final game for Michigan, but could be ready for the start of training camp. He would fit a potential need for the Cowboys, even with the ageless Jason Witten signing a four-year extension on Tuesday.
Cornerback Sidney Jones has first-round talent, but he suffered a torn Achilles in his pro day workout at Washington. That is normally a long recovery, and the Cowboys might be leery of selecting a cornerback with that type of injury, despite their need. Another top cornerback, UCLA's Fabian Moreau, suffered a torn pectoral in his pro day that required surgery. He is looking to be ready by training camp.
The Cowboys have a history of drafting injured players.
In 2011, the Cowboys drafted linebacker Bruce Carter in the second round despite a torn ACL that kept him out of the first six games of his rookie season. In 2010, they drafted Sean Lee in the second round despite his partial ACL tear. Lee eventually suffered a full tear in 2014 and missed the season. In 2015, they drafted linebacker Mark Nzeocha in the seventh round despite a knee injury that kept him out for most of his rookie season.
Given the defections of Barry Church, Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne, Terrell McClain, Jack Crawford and J.J. Wilcox, and with Nolan Carroll and Stephen Paea as the best additions, the Cowboys need to find players who can help immediately.
It even has the ultimate gambler, Jones, thinking conservatively.
"Drafting a player this year that is going to be redshirted high, with some of our needs," Jones said in this Star-Telegram story, "that gets problematic a little bit -- doing a Jaylon this year, when we are probably going to get a chance to get a player that's got a chance to play. We've got to play young."