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WHAT ROUND WILL JAYLON SMITH GET DRAFTED? IF YOU'RE THE STEELERS FO, WHEN WOULD YOU SELECT HIM?

Is there a doctor in the house?

Sadly I don't specialize in knee reconstruction surgery (but I did stay at a Holiday Inn express last night!) and therefore can't really speak to the level of nerve damage and the likelihood that Jaylon Smith fully recovers. But, if you think he's sitting around with his leg all wrapped up then think again. This isn't "The Program" and he ain't Alvin Mack.

Spent the day in Fort Wayne, Ind., with @thejaylonsmith, who's 3.5 months past knee reconstruction and doing this: pic.twitter.com/alivVQgtgu

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 23, 2016

If you peeped the tweet it would seem his recovery is progressing (again, I'm no doctor) however it's pretty much been accepted that Smith won't play in 2016, not as if that's a big deal since placing him on the injured reserve list is likely to buy whatever team selected him another year of his services, essentially making him a 2017 draft pick who should have some very good time in an NFL weight room plus the chance to become familiar with the team's defense. The bigger deal (and question) is, will he ever play at 100%.

One can't help but think back to the situation with Marcus Lattimore, a very good college RB who blew out his knee one too many times. The 49ers used a 4th round compensatory pick and gambled on him. But this situation is different as Lattimore had multiple knee injuries (same knee) that ultimately ended his career.

That said, and since Marcus was selected in the 4th round, is that the earliest a team would and should take a chance on a player like Jaylon Smith? Does he start to become enticing in the 4th or do you suspect there is a team out there willing to roll the dice in the 3rd round on a guy who was, until his injury, a top 5 pick?

Honestly I don't have a clue, but I'll try to make a case for why some team (and which team) would be willing to take him in each round.

ROUND 1:

Oh man. I feel like one of those kids who didn't do his book report and has to get up in front of the class and ramble on for 5 minutes. Ok. Well, start with a joke.

I know one team that won't be taking Smith in the 1st. The Patriots! :)

Now, IF (and that's a big if) a team were to take a chance on Jaylon Smith in the 1st round I suspect it would be an organization who believes they are already pretty well rounded and could deal with waiting another year for their 1st round pick to step on the field.

This means I'm looking at teams that made the playoffs this past season. Problem with that is, some of these teams had the best defenses in the NFL last year and it's usually the best teams that get decimated in FA and have holes to fill. A team that sucks has an excuse to rebuild and the time to do it, however the problem with that is, they usually have the top talent staring them in the face and would be crazy to pass that up and take a big risk.

I doubt Denver (although they did lose a pretty good LB) or Carolina will take him. They both have needs now. Denver at QB, Carolina at CB and Safety (with the departure of Norman).

The Steelers have too many needs to take a flyer on Smith in the 1st round. After us there's KC who needs to replenish their defense a bit as they lost a few people. They have a few LB's who are getting up their in age and so maybe Smith is an option for them?

I tried to make a case here but in reality there are just too many healthy (and good) players for a team to take Smith in the 1st round.

ROUND 2:

Well, it's starting to look a little better. The Titans have 3 picks in this round so who knows who they will target. Plus the Patriots have 2 picks in the late 2nd round and if Smith ends up working out it would be as if they never even lost their 1st round pick. I'm sure Kraft would love to rub "the Jaylon pick" in Goodell's face for a few years if he fully recovers and ends up being an elite player.

ROUND 3:

Ok, some might find this crazy but I think there's a real chance Smith is selected in the 3rd round. I happen to think, unless a good safety or cornerback is there when we pick at 89 that the Steelers should take him. That's if the Browns, who have multiple picks in the 3rd round, don't take him first.

The Browns have the 65th, 77th, 99th, and 100th (4th round) picks so I wouldn't be surprised to see the 100th pick used on Jaylon Smith.

I would be a fan of trading back with the Browns, taking their 32 pick and 77th pick for our 25th pick if all the good DT and CB options are gone, and then taking Karl Joseph/Keanu Neal with the 32nd pick and Jaylon Smith with the 77th pick. Could be great value. Moving back 8 spots nets you a Jaylon Smith and you still get a Karl Joseph. Not to shabby, now we need the Browns to show interest in Lynch and for him to still be there at 25.

Call me crazy but I've got dreams of a Shazier/Smith duo wreaking havoc from sideline to sideline while Mike Mitchell and Karl Joseph fly across the middle of the field like Valkyries, torpedoing the living crap of out anyone stupid enough to touch our football (that's right it's ours)!!

If we're moving towards a 3-3-5 or 4-2-5 then Smith and Shazier would likely be a very big piece of that transformation. Pair them up with Mitchell, grab Joseph in the 1st or maybe Cravens in the 2nd and suddenly you've got yourself a fast, versatile, smart, hard hitting unit to back up a good DL (and yes, the mighty mites can play too).

The Compensatory picks start in the 3rd round so look for teams like the Browns to think long and hard about Smith. I don't think it's too early.

ROUND 4:

Ok, much like Lattimore this is probably the most realistic projection with Smith being picked in the 4th. If he's still around after the 4th I will be amazed and likely trade my house for a compensatory pick and start my own expansion team with just Smith and I (much like the Browns, we're building from the floor up).

The Ravens have the 102nd, 130th, 132nd, and 134th pick in the 4th round. I would bet my signed Jerome Bettis Notre Dame football card that this is Smith's floor, the 134th pick. As Gandalf once said, 'YOU SHALL NOT PASS"!!

ROUND 5:

If he falls to the 5th round we can thank Scobee for once again screwing up our team. The Steelers don't draft well in the 5th (William Gay and Clark Haggins being the ONLY exceptions in recent memory) so I would've gladly wasted a 5th round pick on a player who was a top 5 pick before his injury.

ROUND 6:

This Article talks about how the Cheatriots could take a chance on him, as they have 5 sixth round picks (must be nice) but I look for him to be gone long before that.


ROUND 7:

I won't even go there, and neither will Smith. He's gone by the 4th round and if I was the FO I would take him in the 3rd round (If the Steelers can take a chance on Dri Archer in the 3rd, then Smith warrants the same consideration).

OVERALL:

I think Jaylon could go as early as the late 2nd round to the Pats, but more than likely he's a late 3rd round or early 4th round pick. I think that he's selected somewhere between the 99th and 134th pick.

The opinions shared here are not those of the editorial staff of Behind the Steel Curtain or SB Nation. These posts are not approved in any way by the editorial staff of this web site.