Cowboys' Jaylon Smith: Return for OTAs a possibility

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones anticipates Smith (knee) being ready for the start of organized team activities on May 23, Jon Machota of The Dallas News reports."He's doing great," Jones added. "He's making great improvements. We're certainly more fired up than ever that we picked him last year."

Analysis:

Smith is making steady progress in his recovery from nerve damage in his left knee and even attended the Cowboys' voluntary workouts this month. While he isn't up to full speed yet -- and may not be until training camp or later -- it seems the Dallas front office is much more concerned over when, not if, its 2016 second-rounder will be fully cleared to resume all football-related activities. Barring any sort of setback, Smith is still expected to make a significant contribution on defense in 2017.