Myles Jack insists his knee is in good health.
A week before the 2016 NFL Draft, that's what any draft prospect coming off a knee injury would say. But the former UCLA linebacker also wondered aloud if reports of concerns regarding his recovery from a seven-month-old knee injury might instead be a smokescreen coming from an NFL club that wants a better chance to draft him.
"As far as my knee goes, it's absolutely fine. I've been working out for teams," Jack told The Dan Patrick Show on Thursday. "I think you guys have seen the videos and stuff, so on my end everything's fine. I don't know if this is a smokescreen or whatever it is, but at the end of the day, whoever wants to take me will take me. I'm not worried about it."
Jack injured his knee during a UCLA practice last September, withdrew from school and announced he would enter the 2016 draft as an underclassman. He's been rehabilitating ever since and showed off a 40-inch vertical jump at UCLA's pro day on March 15. NFL Media's Michael Silver reported last month that Jack likely wouldn't run a 40-yard dash for teams before the draft.
Clubs had mixed opinions on the results of the NFL Scouting Combine medical recheck of his knee last week. More damning reports than that have surfaced about his knee since then, however, leaving Jack to wonder if it all might be pre-draft gamesmanship.
It might not require a smokescreen for Jack slide a bit, anyway. With the recent trades by the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles to claim the first two picks, quarterbacks are expected to go 1-2, meaning the draft for non-quarterbacks now begins at No. 3 with the San Diego Chargers.
And for Jack and any other prospect who won't make a living throwing the ball, expectations must adjust accordingly, although the former Bruins star says he'd love to land with the team holding the No. 4 overall pick.
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