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Notre Dame alum Jaylon Smith living up to monster contract

By J.P. Scott

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 20: Jaylon Smith #54 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates tackling Carson Wentz #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles (not pictured) during the first half in the game at AT&T Stadium on October 20, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 20: Jaylon Smith #54 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates tackling Carson Wentz #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles (not pictured) during the first half in the game at AT&T Stadium on October 20, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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The former Notre Dame linebacker has not disappointed in 2019 after signing a mega-deal in the offseason.

There are few players in the Brian Kelly era of Notre Dame football as universally loved by Irish fans as Jaylon Smith. Aside from being just an honest-to-goodness great guy, his on-field play for the Dallas Cowboys continues to make Golden Domer fans proud.

Back in August, Smith signed a 5-year, 64 million dollar extension with the Cowboys. So far in 2019, he’s proven to be worth every penny.

Through eight games, the Cowboys lead the NFC East division. Smith and the play of the Dallas defense are a big reason for that.

In terms of yards allowed, Dallas is sixth in the NFL and third in the NFC. As for points allowed — the stat that actually wins and loses games — Dallas is fifth in the NFL and third in the NFC.

Jaylon Smith’s role in that success has been huge. He is tied for 13th in the NFL for total tackles with 68. That number leads the Cowboys. He is also fourth on the Cowboys for sacks in 2019 with 2.5, third in tackles for loss with 4.5 and tied for first in forced fumbles with two. He has also defended two passes, which is more than any non-defensive back on the Cowboys.

Suffice to say, Jaylon Smith is the best defensive player on one of the best defenses in the NFL. If he keeps up this pace, he will be very much in the conversation for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

More importantly, Smith’s consistently elite play will keep the Dallas Cowboys at the top of the defensive rankings, which in-turn keeps the Cowboys as realistic Super Bowl contenders.

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In what has been a wide-open NFL season, there is a realistic chance that Jaylon Smith and the Cowboys end up representing the NFC in the Super Bowl — in which case Smith may need to invest a small portion of his new riches in a safe to store a Super Bowl ring in.

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