Former UCLA linebacker Myles Jack was expected to a be a sure-fire first round pick during Thursday’s first round of the NFL draft, but surprisingly the 20-year-old never heard his named called on day one.
Teams appeared to be wary of drafting Jack because of a knee injury he suffered in college. Jack admitted he could need microfracture surgery to the New York Post.
“[The degenerative problems are] there, but it’s nothing extreme. Down the line, possibly I could have microfracture surgery — potentially. Who knows what will happen?
Jack scared away teams who didn’t want to spend a high draft pick on a potentially injured player.
Well, according to (the very busy) Dr. James Andrews, Jack doesn’t need microfracture surgery after all:
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
Schefter further reported Jack won’t be in attendance during tonight’s draft, instead opting to watch it from his hotel.
UCLA LB Myles Jack will not attend tonight's draft, will watch in at a Chicago hotel instead, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 29, 2016
Jack tweeted a video this afternoon of himself dunking a basketball, as a way of telling the world that his knee’s okay.
https://twitter.com/MylesJack/status/726113668602036224
He also seemed perplexed at Dr. Andrews’ announcement he didn’t need surgery, retweeting responses wondering why the news couldn’t have been dropped before the Draft started.
@AdamSchefter Dr. Andrews a little too busy to deliver this news yesterday?
— Frank Esposito 🏍️ (@fbesposito) April 29, 2016
Per @AdamSchefter, Dr. James Andrews told UCLA's Myles Jack today his knee does not require microfracture surgery. pic.twitter.com/Rqn28mk6fV
— Randy Scott (@RandyScottESPN) April 29, 2016
It’s unfortunate the news couldn’t drop yesterday, but it’s not all bad news for Jack. According to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com, Jack took out an insurance policy in college which could earn him money if he falls much further than expected.
“A source with knowledge of the policy says that Jack will start to collect if he falls to the 45th pick in the draft and will get about $60,000 per pick after that. That means Jack will collect north of $1 million if he slips into the third round, but he would have to fall into the early sixth round to collect the entire policy.”
If Jack does fall hard, it could have a positive financial impact. Since he’s fallen out of the big money in the first round, Jack might be actively rooting for that scenario.
