Rookie Expectations: Roquan Smith
Here’s what to expect from Roquan Smith in his first year with the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears expect plenty of big things from their first round pick, Roquan Smith. That’s not a surprise, when you draft an NFL-ready linebacker with the eighth overall pick, you are hoping he makes an instant impact. Plenty of NFL pundits loved what the Bears did in free agency and in the draft and Smith is right at the top of the reasons why.
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Best-Case Scenario
Smith picks up on Vic Fangio’s defense immediately and fits like a glove. The idea that Fangio has found his new “Patrick Willis” comes to fruition. Smith has a great training camp and preseason and earns a starting spot out of the gate. Smith uses his speed and agility to cover from sideline-to-sideline. He becomes the team’s best tackler and pushes Nick Kwiatkoski to a sub role and the Bears even try Kwiatkoski on the outside.
Smith also becomes quite a play maker, landing on some loose balls and even intercepting a couple passes. His ability is nationally lauded and he earns a spot on the all-rookie team and is even named Defensive Rookie of the Year and earns a spot in the Pro Bowl. He elevates the defense to one of the top units in the league and becomes established as one of the elite inside linebackers in the sport.
Worst-Case Scenario
Smith doesn’t have an incredible preseason and shows that he gets caught in traffic at times and can’t fight off blockers. His size proves to be a bit of an issue and he doesn’t earn the starting spot out of camp and Nick Kwiatkoski starts along with Danny Trevathan. After a few games, an injury opens the door for Smith to start and he’s underwhelming when he plays. He makes some plays, shows some ability but shows that his size is a bit of an issue and that he isn’t quite ready to play.
He spends most of the season being a rotational defensive player and only playing a handful of snaps a game. Knowing that they invested such a high pick in Smith, Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy are still willing to commit to him in the offseason and release Trevathan and open the door for him to start in year two. Smith enters 2019 needing to step up his game, get stronger and become the player they expect him to be.
Odds Are
Smith earns the starting job and plays well. He proves to be a strong tackler, a leader on the defense and is a strong addition to the unit. Smith doesn’t dominate out of the gate and struggles in traffic and fighting off blocks, but still shows far more positives than negatives. Trevathan leads the team in tackles, but Smith finishes second. He earns all-rookie team honors but doesn’t win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, losing out to either Bradley Chubb or Derwin James.
Smith shows that after a solid rookie campaign, he could pair that with a great offseason and he can enter year two with a solid chance to go from being a good linebacker to becoming a great one.