Jaylon Smith was the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft until New Year’s Eve, when he tore both the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and LCL (lateral collateral ligament) in his knee during Notre Dame’s Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State.
He declared early for the draft anyway — although expected to miss the 2016 season, he was expected back for 2017. It was a reasonable expectation. The surgeries for these problems have improved by light years over the last decades.
But last week, we were told that an issue with the nerves had arisen.