What It Means:

Werder admits Smith playing in 2016 "seems unlikely." Prior to the draft, Smith was dealing with "drop-foot", a condition where the front of the foot can drag across the ground while walking because the nerve doesn't fire to raise it. Smith faces a long road back to even become half the player he was at Notre Dame. The Cowboys made a high-risk/high-reward selection, taking him 34th overall this year, but they may come to regret it.

The Cowboys ranked 19th in Adjusted Defensive Net Expected Points (NEP) per play last season.