Myles Jack’s Knee: Ticking Timebomb or Draft Smokescreen?

NFL personnel men are known to blow a little smoke at this time of year, hoping it gets in the eyes of an enemy that may have designs on the same player or players they covet. Using planted rumors and fabricated stories, every year something unsavory or damaging comes out about a player – usually multiple players – near the top of the draft boards.

Myles Jack may be this year’s smear campaign victim. Jack is widely considered a top-5 talent and is expected to go in the top 10 of this year’s draft. Injury history and durability concerns – he tore his meniscus in September 2015 – are very realistic, and after putting him through his paces NFL medical staff were polarized on whether or not they felt Jack’s recovery was progressing well. Some did, some did not.

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It appears now that after medical re-checks in Indianapolis last week, the ultra-talented linebacker from UCLA is being thrown to the wolves as a result of some concerning issues with his repaired knee. How serious is it? It may be very serious. Or it may not be. Again, there is nothing definitive.

But the sharks will circle when there’s blood in the water, and Les Bowen, of the Philadelphia Daily News, threw out this particularly tasty piece of speculative chum:

And of course, instant speculation began as to whether this would affect Jack’s draft status ten days from now. Some doctors are not optimistic:

While some fans outside the top 10 are just happy to hear Jack may be a possibility, and would even trade up to get him at the right spot:

So is this legitimate concern that should cause some teams to have pause about Jack’s longevity, or more of a typical draft-day smokescreen put up by teams – like the Chargers-Titans co-conspiracy about a Philip Rivers trade that was never going to happen last season to drive up the value of the Titans’ pick – to hopefully see a player fall from grace and right into their lap?

To that end, if Jack, a 6’1, 245 pd monster with freak athleticism and a football IQ off the charts – he earned both the Pac-12 Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2013, as well as being named finalist for Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player – were to fall to the Raiders at No. 14, should they take a chance?

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As a former running back, Jack knows both sides of the ball. The Raiders need a middle linebacker who can hit and possesses coverage skills. Jack was a tackling machine in his two years at UCLA, showing sideline-to-sideline speed and incredibly honed instincts in coverage. The last player who played running back and linebacker at such a high level at the same time? DJ Williams – who starred for the Denver Broncos for 9 seasons and played parts of two others with the Chicago Bears. Jack’s size-speed-athleticism combination is even more special than that of Williams.

He fits one of the Raiders last few needs, is a west-coast guy from Bellevue, Washington and attended UCLA, and if not for his injury would be in the discussion as the overall Number 1 pick for a non-QB needy team.

The Raiders have built a talented and strong enough roster that if a widely considered top 5 talent like Jack falls to them at No. 14 because of some speculation over the future of his knee and the length of his career – it is well worth the risk and may end up being a major reward. Jack’s knee was certainly injured, and the tear going forward isn’t the concern but the residual cartilage and bone damage that may have been a result – but is it enough of a worry for teams to shy away from him?

The Raiders should certainly hope so.