On Saturday, linebacker Myles Jack indeed worked out for Jaguars coach Gus Bradley and G.M. Dave Caldwell. On Monday morning, Jack’s agent, John Thornton, posted a video of Jack doing drills following a Saturday night workout for the Jaguars that Thornton described as “intense.”
In the video, Jack shows off his lateral movement and his ability to cut and change directions, seven months after surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.
The video was posted five minutes after Thornton said this on Twitter: “I wish these doctors/trainers would have shared concussion info like they are sharing ‘alleged’ Myles Jack knee info.”
The video and the tweet come in response to a report from Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News, who claims that an unnamed source has called Jack a “time bomb” due to a knee that “could give him several good years, or not,” and that “bone and cartilage are starting to break away.” Bowen later said that the source compared Jack to former NFL linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who “made the Pro Bowl twice, won Super Bowl, but only had 6-7 healthy” years.
Of course, thousands of players would happily take those six or seven healthy years that Vilma enjoyed, and teams looking for a linebacker would be thrilled to get another Vilma.
The broader reality is that, without knowing which team Bowen’s source works for, it’s impossible to rule out the possibility that the information is being exaggerated or embellished for one reason and one reason only: To induce a slide by Jack into the arms of the team that is spreading these concerns.
It’s a tradition unlike any other when it comes to the NFL draft. Teams that like a player will say bad things about him, in the hopes he’ll still be there when they can draft him. Teams that don’t like a player will say great things about him, in the hopes that some sucker will waste a pick on a guy the team doesn’t want.
As to Jack, it’s entirely possible that the information comes from someone who hopes to get Jack. Otherwise, the source would have (should have) said nothing at all, hopeful that Jack’s premature selection by some sucker pushes down the board guys that the source’s team hopes will be there.