It took only three picks into the second round of the NFL draft Friday evening for someone to take a chance on injured Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith.

That someone was the Dallas Cowboys, who selected Smith’s with the draft’s 34th overall choice.

That was higher than many observers projected for Smith, who is recovering from a knee injury that reportedly involves nerve damage and might not play at all in the 2016 season.

Still, some talent evaluators say he might have been a candidate for the top overall selection in this draft if he’d been healthy, and the Cowboys apparently are willing to wait for him to get on the field in the hope that he will be a future standout.