Jaylon Smith: Pro Bowl snub is ‘blasphemy’

Jaylon Smith has done plenty to prove he was worthy of a second-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft despite concerns over a chronic knee issue he was battling, and no one would have been surprised if the Cowboys linebacker was selected for the Pro Bowl this year. He was not, however, and he clearly feels he was overlooked.

After the Pro Bowl rosters were announced on Tuesday, Smith sent a cryptic tweet that many interpreted to mean he believed he had been snubbed.

— Jaylon Smith (@thejaylonsmith) December 19, 2018

The former Notre Dame star essentially confirmed that when later speaking with reporters.

“Some of it’s blasphemy,” Smith said, according to Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “You just got to continue to work. It’s all about creating the edge. I love this game and I’ll keep playing it hard.”

Smith has 108 tackles through 14 games this season. Fellow Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch has 117, which is the most on the team. While Smith and Vander Esch have helped Dallas overcome Sean Lee being limited to just six games with more hamstring trouble, Stevenson notes that they may have worked against each other in Pro Bowl voting.

There were questions about whether the Cowboys made the right choice drafting Smith in the second round with all of the concerns about his knee, but it looks like one veteran was right about the impact the linebacker would make.