Michael Irvin: Jaylon Smith will be a Hall of Famer, ‘black Luke Kuechly’

It sounds as though Michael Irvin is feeling very enthusiastic about the Dallas Cowboys draft, particularly their second round pick.

Irvin appeared on KRLD 105.3 in Dallas, and he was, well, a bit over the top in his praise for the Cowboys’ linebacker.

“I’m telling y’all right, I’m telling y’all right now, and I need all the people talking about this Jaylon Smith kid — I’m gonna tell y’all right … now,” Irvin told the station, via Ryan Wilson of Eye on Football. “I kept his [draft] card; I got the card right here next to me. I’ma hold on to this card, and when I see this kid in Canton, Ohio, I’m going to have him sign it for me. It was one of the greatest thrills of my career to sit and announce that pick, and when he made that pick, when he picked Smith, oh my God! Oh my God! I was off the wall, off the wall.

“I know he has adversity in front of him, but I know the kind of dude he is,” Irvin added. “He’ll come back. The baddest man in the league right now, the baddest linebacker in the league right now, Luke Kuechly, I call Luke Kuechly ‘the white Ray Lewis.’ I said it myself, Jaylon Smith is gonna be the next ‘black Luke Kuechly.’ That’s what we just got, you understand what I’m saying? This dude is bad, for real. This dude would’ve been a top-five pick also, had he not been hurt.”

So no pressure there, Jaylon. Irvin is right – Smith would have been a very high pick if not for the injury he suffered in January. Having to sit out a season won’t do anything for the anticipation or expectations. Still, basically calling him a future Hall of Famer and comparing him to arguably the best linebacker in the league right now as well as one of the best of all time is a bit much. Irvin, apparently, isn’t as concerned about Smith’s knee as much as some teams reportedly were.

Of course, it’s worth keeping in mind that Irvin has had some rather odd opinions in the past, too.