The Cowboys reportedly came close to trading the second round pick used to select Jaylon Smith to the Bears
In the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the predominant storyline was essentially how chaotic everything became with top-tier talents falling way below where they were projected to go. At the start of Day 2 and the second round on Friday, though, the biggest (and most touching) story of early on was the Dallas Cowboys selecting Jaylon Smith out of Notre Dame.
Smith was going to be a top-10 and possibly a top-5 pick initially, but a terrible knee injury ruined that hope as he’s now going to miss at least the 2016 season and there’s no word on when he’ll ever fully be healthy. However, the Cowboys took the risk of taking him early in Round 2 and their gamble turned into an emotional, feel-good moment involving the linebacker—only Dallas was reportedly quite close to never allowing Smith to have that moment.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Cowboys were quite close to trading the No. 34 overall pick in the NFL Draft to the Chicago Bears, but the deal fell through right at the very end and the Cowboys then took Smith:
Before the #Cowboys picked #ND LB Jaylon Smith, they came thisclose to trading with the #Bears before it fell apart.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 29, 2016
Well that certainly makes the story of the Cowboys taking him a little less of a fairy tale.
Even if they were trying to trade the pick, though, it really speaks to the optimism that the Cowboys’ doctors (who performed the surgery on Smith’s knee) have about the linebacker’s health going forward and to the talent of Smith that Dallas would still feel comfortable picking Smith at this position. That they almost moved the pick lessens the storybook nature of the narrative—but only slightly.
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