The meaning of drafting Roquan Smith
The best signal from the drafting of Roquan Smith is that the Chicago Bears are now ready to compete
Roquan Smith was a grade A pick. I compared him to Navarro Bowman in terms of play style. Is it by accident that Vic Fangio wound up drafting both? So while Fangio got his Bowman, his Jerrell Freeman in the middle, one of the underlying impacts from the Roquan Smith selection is the statement it sent. This team is ready to compete.
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The Chicago Bears could have gone with Tremaine Edmunds. A lot of people were calling for it. The high upside linebacker compared to Brian Urlacher had to be on the Bears radar right? No, the team had little contact with him.
The fact of the matter is that in the hear and now, Edmunds brings questions. He gets caught watching and does not bring anything to the pass rush that some are describing. He is a project player. Some have tied that to Ryan Pace.
However, Pace is done with the high-risk bets. Done with the upside for profit. He has his team. Roquan Smith is the missing piece and he can start next season. The Bears are now all-in on next season.
In nickel packages, the team will have Akiem Hicks paired up with Eddie Goldman. Aaron Lynch accompanies Leonard Floyd. Danny Trevathan and Smith lock things down in the middle with Adrian Amos, Eddie Jackson, Prince Amukamara, Kyle Fuller and Bryce Callahan holding down the slot. And do think, this is just after round one.
The Bears are drafting to win and they are drafting to win right now. That is one of the best things to hear as a fan of a professional football franchise.