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Chicago Bears Draft Scout: Roquan Smith

By Parker Hurley

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 02: Jarrett Stidham Roquan Smith
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 02: Jarrett Stidham Roquan Smith /
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Roquan Smith is riding a dominant run in multiple spotlight games to end his college career. Is he worth the hype of the eight overall pick, or is did his stock get a bit too overrated?

Roquan Smith was a highly recruited prospect out of Georgia and made a name for himself with an outstanding 2017 season. Smith played sparingly as a freshman, but as a sophomore stepped up with 95 tackles and five tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. As a Junior, he blew up with 137 combined tackles, 14 coming four loss. That came with 6.5 sacks and one forced fumble.

Is he the can’t miss player for the Chicago Bears?

Measurables

Age: 21

School: Georgia

Strengths

To say that Roquan Smith plays fast is putting a bit too lightly. He plays at warped speed. Smith is extremely instinctual. That combined with his raw speed puts him at the ball in almost every single situation.

Take this play below. Watch Roquan Smith chase down and completely seal off the edge from Kerryon Johnson, an NFL draft prospect. That is the instincts to get a jump on the play immediately and the pure speed to seek out and not just chase down, but beat Johnson to a spot.

On the play below, Smith is not only able to chase down the receiver on the sweep out of the backfield, he was able to square him up and tackle him with perfect form. It does not get any better.

This speed can be found in coverage, and blitzing off of the edge, as shown in all 6.5 of his sacks coming in 2017. Combine that with his instincts and change of direction, and it could be argued he has the highest floor in the entire draft.

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Watch this play below. Smith does not create the sack, but he certainly plays a key role. Smith is coming in hot off of the edge. However, he notices that Johnson is no longer blocking, but going out for a check down for his quarterback. Watch how quick Smith is to change his mind and shut off any chance that Johnson has to do something with the ball. That was the last resort before the quarterback was taken down.

Weaknesses

Roquan Smith is a bit undersized. Stepping up into the box is going to be a challenge for him as a well as disengaging from a lineman. He can also be found on the second level by blockers and has trouble getting away because of his size.

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