Oakland Raiders NFL Draft: Four Thoughts Heading Into Day 2
The fall of Myles Jack
Alongside Laremy Tunsil and his interesting night, the biggest storyline from day one of the draft was the fall of Myles Jack.
Jack seemed like a lock for the top five, all the way up until the days just before the draft. Word was he could slip out of the top ten, but falling all the way out of the first round? Crazy.
... At any rate, I do know teams outside the Top 10 have been scrambling to do more background on Myles Jack, bc he may now fall to them.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 24, 2016
When Jack tore his meniscus in September, there wasn’t anything that made it seem out of the ordinary. Of course, any knee injury is severe, but no one expected it to get to this point.
What that point is, is the possibility of microfracture surgery. Jack said as much himself just before the draft:
"“(The degenerative problems are) there, but it’s nothing extreme,” Jack told The New York Post on Wednesday. “Down the line, possibly I could have microfracture surgery — potentially. Who knows what will happen? Nobody knows how long anybody is going to play in this league. To play three years in this league would be above average.”"
To be more specific on Jack’s knee, he is reportedly suffering from an issue known as the osteochondral defect. A source described the injury for NFL.com:
"“Instead, the cartilage and bone have begun to separate, creating what is referred to by medical professionals as an osteochondral defect.”"
Yikes.
However, some potentially good news was reported before day two of the draft, via Adam Schefter, by way of Dr. James Andrews.
Dr. James Andrews, who examined Myles Jack in December, told the UCLA LB today that he does not need micro-fracture surgery.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 29, 2016
After his fall out of the first round, Jack posted a quick video of him dunking a basketball — obviously to show that his knee is in good shape.
The concern, though, is how long his knee will hold up. Ed Werder explained as much:
#NFL med source tells me Myles Jack knee more troubling in some ways than Jaylon Smith. While Smith's heals in time, Jack's deteriorates
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) April 29, 2016
Speaking of Jaylon Smith, his situation now seems very comparable to Jack’s. Rumor was Jaylon would be gone by the end of the third round, so is that what we can expect for Jack?
If Jack’s knee is as a bad as some of these reports say, which linebacker is worth taking first? And at what point do you draft either?
It’s a very tough question, and is certainly the most intriguing storyline heading into Friday.
Next: Thought #3: Plenty of talent available