Chicago Bears Draft Scout: Roquan Smith

Parker Hurley

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 02: Jarrett Stidham Roquan Smith

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.

Pro Comparison Navorro Bowman

Seeing the able to square up defenders, and roam sideline to sideline while remaining precise in his abilities makes it hard to look away from a NaVorro Bowman comparison. Bowman is bigger than Smith, weighting around 240 pounds. It helped him be more efficient against power running in the box. However, with the tackling angles and technique, Smith has chances to put on some muscle and maintain in the box for a bit.

Smith is also better in coverage. His best work is done in space, finding the ball, and shutting down runs to the outside before they even start. That is what Bowman brought to the table and that is what Roquan Smith is going to give teams in the NFL.

Being an instinctive and precise mover gave Bowman the ability to sustain a long career at a very high level playing linebacker. It is what is going to give Roquan Smith that same floor. At the very least, any team is getting a satisfactory starter. At the best, there are All-Pro seasons and certainly multiple Pro Bowls.

A fit for Chicago Bears?

Now, the question as to whether or not the Chicago Bears should spend the eight overall pick on Roquan Smith? On one hand, they are going to cut Jerrell Freeman. Christian Jones is a free agent, and how comfortable can the team be with Nick Kwiatkowski given a relatively small sample size?

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Smith can fit in perfectly next to Danny Trevathan. Vic Fangio gets his next Bowman, and the team is set in the middle for years to come.

Then, there is the idea of the value of a linebacker. He technically only turned the ball over twice last year. If a pass rusher who is close on their is around, do they take Smith? He is the best player available. Kwiatkowski filled in fine, and if they do re-sign Christian Jones, a mid-round pick or a free agent could fill out that room.

Even when Jerrell Freeman and Trevathan played at a high level, it was not game-changing. It will be interesting to see how much they value Smith and the idea of adding an inside linebacker eighth overall.

Parker Hurley

IUP Alum. Pittsburgh native. Follows NFL, NCAAB, NBA, MLB, and NHL. Steelers and Pirates critic, Penguins homer. Write about the Chicago Bears and other relevant NFL news