INDIANAPOLIS -- Aside from Jaylon Smith, no one has spoken more optimistically about the linebacker's recovery than Jerry Jones.

And it continued at the NFL's scouting combine Saturday.

The Cowboys owner and general manager said at Smith's current condition Dallas would draft him with its 28th overall pick if he was in this year's class.

Nerve damage suffered when Smith tore his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments during his final game at Notre Dame has caused him to wear a brace on his left foot. Jones confirmed that Smith can play immediately while wearing the brace.

"I've been advised by all our medical staff," Jones said. "The same people that advised us when we drafted him that he can play the way he has been conditioning and play right now. We factually know and we are more optimistic about that his feeling and nerves are improving. We know that."

If Smith had entered the 2016 draft healthy, he was projected to be a top five pick. The Cowboys selected him in the second round, 34th overall.

Despite most saying Smith wouldn't play his rookie year, Jones didn't close the door on that possibility until mid-December when he was placed on the season-ending injured reserved.

"Everything that he's about in terms of his competitiveness, in terms of his makeup, it's off the charts," Jones said. "We have every reason to think he's going to come in and be an impact player."