Jaylon Smith-OLB/ILB-Notre Dame

The prospect I am most intrigued by for the 2016 draft. I know Daniel Jeremiah compared him to Patrick Willis in terms of explosivess but I see the comparison in terms of being a "no-brainer" sort of pick. Willis was so well-rounded, there were very few downsides to his game, it seemed everyone agreed that he'd be a successful NFL player but he still ended up going later than he rightfully should have due to being an inside linebacker.


Smith is able to do it all out on the football field, can cover a tremendous amount of terrain pretty quickly, can drop back into coverage, a consistent tackler, great football instincts, good size for the position, just a tackling machine and an instant impact player from Day 1.

Unless the 49ers are historically awful and end up with a crack at a guy like Bosa, I would love to see them make Smith the pick and pair him up with Bowman as ILB's. I also think that the versatility that a guy like Smith gives you would be quite welcome in Mangini's defense, he's a true defensive weapon and kind of fits the theme going with guys like Tartt that you can move all over the place. I think you can draft him and plug him in as a starter at ILB for a long time and add a true game-changing piece to the defense.

He's my draft crush too

I wrote this on Phoenix's mock draft but this guy seems to be far and away better than ILBs that came out this year. If you watch this guy, he is all over the field. Definitely would love to have him on this team.

Going to need to put about 10lbs on.

Where do you all see him being drafted?

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:

Where do you all see him being drafted?

Round 1, anywhere from pick 8 to pick 14.

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Where do you all see him being drafted?

too early to tell

This guy just reminds me so much like Julian Peterson (Pre injury), that I think it would be a crime to put him in a 3-4 ILB.

Imagine the 49ers LB's in a 4-3, LOLB - Jaylon Smith, MLB - Navarro Bowman, ROLB - Eli Harold



I like!!!!

He can play both inside and outside so any team can draft him. So versatile. He would be perfect fit for a need I think.

Originally posted by jreff22:
too early to tell

Top 7.

Yea I just watched him today!

I was like, it would be sweet if we drafted this dude

I'm a pretty big ND fan, so I may be a little biased, but he's been my draft crush for a couple years. I think he's better as a 4-3 OLB, but he's so well rounded it doesn't matter where he ends up. He's a ridiculous athlete, solid in run support and coverage, can blitz, and does not miss open field tackles. Kelly has said that Smith may be the best defensive player he's coached and I would agree with that - I thought he was better than Te'o as a freshman. Now that we only have Bowman at MLB and no true NT, I wouldn't mind a shift to a 4-3 defense, especially if it went with drafting Jaylon Smith.

Originally posted by eastcoast49ersfan:
I'm a pretty big ND fan, so I may be a little biased, but he's been my draft crush for a couple years. I think he's better as a 4-3 OLB, but he's so well rounded it doesn't matter where he ends up. He's a ridiculous athlete, solid in run support and coverage, can blitz, and does not miss open field tackles. Kelly has said that Smith may be the best defensive player he's coached and I would agree with that - I thought he was better than Te'o as a freshman. Now that we only have Bowman at MLB and no true NT, I wouldn't mind a shift to a 4-3 defense, especially if it went with drafting Jaylon Smith.

pretty spot on. The only thing he cannot do well is rush the passer via one-on-one against an OL. The o lineman usually eats him up when Smith tries to rush the passer.

Originally posted by Kolohe:
This guy just reminds me so much like Julian Peterson (Pre injury), that I think it would be a crime to put him in a 3-4 ILB.

Imagine the 49ers LB's in a 4-3, LOLB - Jaylon Smith, MLB - Navarro Bowman, ROLB - Eli Harold



I like!!!!

The Peterson comparison is pretty spot on given their impact on the game and their frame. But Peterson was a BEAST rushing the passer at Michigan Stae while Smith needs work in that department. Nevertheless, I would be very happy if we draft him!



I'm one of the biggest Notre Dame fans on this forum and Smith, Issac Rochell (the guy that NO ONE is talking about) and Sheldon Day will have huge impacts in the NFL.

I'm a huge Irish fan, Jaylon is the real deal. He'd be a great addition next to Bowman.

Originally posted by pdizo916:

pretty spot on. The only thing he cannot do well is rush the passer via one-on-one against an OL. The o lineman usually eats him up when Smith tries to rush the passer.

The Peterson comparison is pretty spot on given their impact on the game and their frame. But Peterson was a BEAST rushing the passer at Michigan Stae while Smith needs work in that department. Nevertheless, I would be very happy if we draft him!



I'm one of the biggest Notre Dame fans on this forum and Smith, Issac Rochell (the guy that NO ONE is talking about) and Sheldon Day will have huge impacts in the NFL.

Completely agree. Also, the niners could use Ronnie Stanley on the O-line as well.