Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons’ torn ACL knocked him out of several mock drafts, but he might yet be going to the Cleveland Browns in the real NFL draft April 25 in Nashville. Simmons tore his ACL while working out and the internet went into conniptions. Several draft analysts offered the opinion that Simmons will almost certainly miss the 2019 season, with a corresponding major impact in his draft status. But is that downgrade truly justified?
Journals like the American Journal of Sports Medicine are informative in this case. To make a long story short, Shah et al, which includes famed surgeon James Andrews among its co-authors, observes that “63 percent (31 of 49) of NFL athletes returned to NFL game play (RTP) at an average of 10.