Cover 9@9: Mock Draft 4.0 -- Will Falcons gamble on Jaylon Smith?

He is trying to make it back from a devastating knee injury suffered in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1. The Butkus Award winner was considered the possible No. 1 overall pick for the upcoming draft before the injury. The draft is set for April 28-30 in Chicago.

"I can't tell you when I'll be back, but I'll be back 100 percent," Smith said.

He suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and lateral collateral ligament.

Smith, a junior, opted to enter the draft early. He participated in Notre Dame’s Pro Day and was measured at 6-foot-2 ¼ and 235 pounds. He benched pressed 225 pounds 24 times. He couldn’t do any of the drills.

The knee is recovering, but the issue will be how long will it take for the nerves to regenerate from the damage. Smith has been surprisingly upbeat.

"It's the game of football and it happened," Smith said. "I have no choice, but to live with it. I'm just moving forward. That's all I'm focused on."

The Falcons, who are on the prowl for defenders, are extremely interested in Smith’s medical evaluation.

If the medical evaluation is encouraging, some team -- perhaps the Falcons -- may take a gamble on Smith.

Smith finished last season with 115 tackles, nine for losses, one sacks and two fumble recoveries.

Would the Falcons gamble on Smith's recovery and take him with the 17th overall pick?

Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter

Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter

We don’t think so. Therefore we'll stay with the safe pick of Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee for mock 4.0.

Here's how the Mock 4.0 stacks up:

* There will be only 31 picks in the first round in 2016, with New England’s first-round pick forfeited.

2. Quarterback corner. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan believes having veteran quarterback Matt Schaub will help the offense.

Schaub had one of his best seasons as a pro under offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan while with the Houston Texans back in 2009.

"It's great to have Matt Schaub back,” Ryan said. “His experience, a guy who's been here in Atlanta before, it's fun to be a part of that. He's a guy who can really help me.”

Schaub will have to beat out Sean Renfree or the Falcons will have to carry three quarterbacks. Quarterback Matt Simms is also on the roster.

Ryan had an experienced backup in Chris Redman from 2008 to 2011. In 2012, the Falcons carried three quarterbacks with Luke McCown and Dominique Davis behind Ryan. In 2013, Davis held the backup spot. In 2014, the Falcons released Davis after trading for T.J. Yates. Last season, Renfree beat-out Yates and there was the Rex Grossman experiment.

Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter

Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter

Schaub, 34, who was selected by the Falcons in the third round (90th overall) of the 2004 draft, has played in 141 games and made 92 starts. The former Virginia star has posted a 47-45 record as a starter.

After playing seven seasons for the Texans, he played a year in Oakland and last season with Baltimore, where he was 1-1 in two starts.

“He's been in the fire and will be able to see some things from a different perspective and be able to help me prepare during the week,” Ryan said. “I'm really excited about Matt being here.”

Schaub believes he can be an asset.

"I'm excited to be back,” Schaub said. “I'm excited to be back in this city and this town… I'm looking forward to contributing and helping out wherever I can.”

Shanahan was Schaub’s quarterbacks coach in 2007. He was the offensive coordinator in 2008 and 2009 before leaving for Washington. Schaub had a mega-season under Shanahan in 2009, when he led the league with 396 completions, 583 attempts, 4,770 yards passing and 298.1 yards passing per game. He also tossed 29 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions and went to his first Pro Bowl. He was also selected to the Pro Bowl in 2013.

“My prior relationship with Kyle and my knowledge of how he operates and functions in this offense (should help),” Schaub said. “I just hope that I can help Matt out and help the young guys come along because we are a young team.”

3. Revising history. In retrospect, the Falcons traded Schaub too early. Back in 2007, he was dealt to the Texans in March for second round picks in 2007 and 2008. The teams also swamped first-round picks in 2007, with the Falcons getting the eighth pick and the Texans getting the 10th pick.

Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter

Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter

If the Falcons would have waited until the draft to make the trade, they likely would not have made it. The rumblings out of Surry County, Virginia about the federal dog-fighting investigation started and they eventually led to the indictment of quarterback Michael Vick.

4. Cornerback update. With Jalen Collins suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the league's performance enhancement drug policy, Akeem King was moved up to the starting right cornerback spot in our projected depth chart.

5. Draft board. In addition to looking for defenders for the front seven of the defense, the Falcons have heavily scouted safeties and tight ends.

6. Go Sparty.  After hosting a round of players workouts last week, the Falcons went back out on the road to do some scouting on Monday.

Coach Dan Quinn sent out a tweet from Michigan State, which has 15 players ranked by CBSSports.com for the upcoming draft.

The top players include offensive tackle Jack Conklin, center Jack Allen and defensive end Shilique Calhoun. The Spartans also have quarterback Connor Cook.

7. ICYMI - Falcons transactions since March 1.

8. CHEERLEADER AUDITIONS:  The pre-lims of the Falcons cheerleader auditions are set for  Sunday, April 24, 2016. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

9. UPDATED DEPTH CHART:  Here's an updated look at the post-free agency depth chart with the King for Collins move:

OFFENSE

WR 11 Julio Jones, 16 Justin Hardy, 17 Devin Hester, 18 Jordan Leslie

LT 70 Jake Matthews, 76 Tom Compton

LG 67 Andy Levitre, 64 Collin Rahrig

C   51 Alex Mack, 62 James Stone

RG 68 Mike Person 63 Ben Garland, 67 Adam Replogle

RT 73 Ryan Schraeder, 72 Bryce Harris

TE 83 Jacob Tamme, 80 Levine Toilolo, 86 D.J. Tialavea, 86 Beau Gardner

WR Mohamed Sanu, 14 Eric Weems, 15 Nick Williams, 89 Aldrick Robinson, 89 C.J. Goodwin

QB 2 Matt Ryan, 12 Sean Renfree, 8 Matt Schaub, 1 Matt Simms

RB 24 Devonta Freeman, 26 Tevin Coleman, 33 Terron Ward, 35 Gus Johnson

FB 42 Patrick DiMarco

NICKEL DEFENSE (60 PERCENT)

RDE  99 Adrian Clayborn, 94 Tyson Jackson

DT 95 Jonathan Babineaux  97 Grady Jarrett

DT 90 Derrick Shelby, 77 Ra’Shede Hageman, 74 Joey Mbu

LDE 44 Vic Beasley Jr., 93 Malliciah Goodman, 41 Tyler Starr

OFFSEASON SPOTLIGHT ON VIC BEASLEY

LB 56 Sean Weatherspoon, 50 Brooks Reed, Philip Wheeler

LB 55 Paul Worrilow, 91 Courtney Upshaw, 53 LaRoy Reynolds

RCB 28 Akeem King, 32 Jalen Collins

OFFSEASON SPOTLIGHT ON JALEN COLLINS

NCB 23 Robert Alford, 43 DeMarcus Van Dyke

LCB 21 Desmond Trufant, 43 DeMarcus Van Dyke

FS 37 Ricardo Allen, 27 Robenson Therezie

S 30 Charles Godfrey, 36 Kemal Ishmael, 40 Damian Parms

SPECIALISTS

K 3 Matt Bryant

KO 5 Matt Bosher

P 5 Matt Bosher

KR 17 Devin Hester, 14 Eric Weems

PR 17 Devin Hester, 14 Eric Weems

LS 47 Josh Harris

H 5 Matt Bosher

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