Jaylon Smith Takes Part in 1st Public Drills Since Surgery on Knee Injury

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith took a significant step toward his first NFL action during organized team activities Wednesday.

According to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, the Notre Dame product took part in drills open to the media for the first time since Dallas drafted him in 2016. Smith suffered a severe knee injury in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State on Jan. 1, 2016, in his final collegiate game. 

Archer noted Smith participated in individual linebacker drills, the walkthrough portion of run drills and special team drills. He also played five snaps with the second-team defense, per Archer.

"Each week we gradually continue to progress," Smith said.

The progress will pay off if Dallas linebacker Sean Lee is right about his assessment: "He's the complete package. Physically, mentally, it’s a matter of time before he’s a dominant player. He’s put the work in."

Dallas has exercised the proper amount of caution and has not allowed Smith to practice three straight days during the offseason, per Archer.

The linebacker missed what would have been his rookie season in 2016 because he was on the reserve/non-football injury list. He demonstrated his overwhelming potential in his final season at Notre Dame when he won the Dick Butkus Award as the nation's best linebacker and earned consensus All-American status with 114 total tackles.