Cowboys select Jaylon Smith in second round of NFL draft

IRVING, Texas — Even with an opportunity to address an immediate pass-rushing need, and even knowing that Jaylon Smith would likely miss all of the 2016 season, Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys believed the sheer talent of the injured Notre Dame linebacker was just too great to pass on.

It was a curious pick considering the Cowboys appeared to go all in by taking Ezekiel Elliott at No. 4 to try to win big during the narrowing window of the Tony Romo era. But on Friday they picked a player who likely won’t play for a year instead of addressing a defensive need in the second round.

Jerry Jones said they had Smith ranked among the top five overall players in the draft and, and the Cowboys owner believes he can be a “cornerstone” defensive player. Jones added he believed he had to remain near the top of the second round in order to draft him.

Stephen Jones, the team’s executive vice president, acknowledged that while Smith may not play this season, “what he is ultimately going to be he is definitely worth our second-round pick.”

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Coach Jason Garrett called him one of the best college linebackers he has seen in a long time.

Smith led Notre Dame with 114 tackles last year before suffering the left knee injury in the Fighting Irish’s Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State. If healthy, Smith was projected as a top-five overall talent in this draft.

Instead, he is less than four months removed from undergoing surgery to reconstruct his left anterior cruciate ligament, as well as all the structures on the lateral side of his knee. Recovery of the peroneal nerve could be the most significant issue for Smith as he pursues a return to the field.

Smith’s surgeon, Dr. Dan Cooper, who is also the Cowboys’ head team physician, told USA TODAY Sports’ Tom Pelissero earlier this month that he is “optimistic that his knee itself will be stable and a good knee and he will get all his strength back. And I also think he has a very good chance of getting his nerve recovery back.”

Smith said Friday that he gets different sensations every day with the nerve. When asked if there’s a chance he could play in 2016, Smith said on a conference call, “Absolutely. Never doubt God.”

The Cowboys appeared poised to address the pass-rushing need early in the second round. But by the time Dallas picked at No. 34, two of the defensive ends the Cowboys appeared to covet – Oklahoma State’s Emmanuel Ogbah and Clemson’s Kevin Dodd - were picked by the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans, respectively.

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With the 67th overall pick, the Cowboys picked Maliek Collins, a three-technique defensive tackle who had seven sacks the last two seasons combined at Nebraska.

“This is crazy,” Collins said. “This is exactly where I wanted to go.”

The Cowboys will need all the help they can get on the defensive line early in the season. DeMarcus Lawrence, who led the team with eight sacks last season, faces a four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Second-year pro Randy Gregory will miss the first four games for the same transgression. And Jerry Jones late Friday night said the Cowboys definitely would not re-sign controversial free agent Greg Hardy.

During the first two days of the draft, Jerry Jones said the Cowboys took full advantage of having a high draft pick, adding high-impact players, even if Smith is unlikely to play this year.

“This time next year, you’ll have probably one of the best picks in the draft,” Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said. “This is an elite player.”

They’ll wait on Smith, even if he’s not on the field until 2017. But given Smith's resolve, the Cowboys aren’t putting a timetable on his recovery.

“The inner strength of this man,” Marinelli said, “is pretty special.”

Follow Eric Prisbell on Twitter @EricPrisbell.