Before the Chicago Bears loss to the Minnesota Vikings, there was some news that Roquan Smith did not make the Pro Bowl as a starter. The top four linebackers were Bobby Wagner, Michal Parsons, Devin White, and Fred Warner. Nobody is going to disparage these talents, but it was surprising to see Smith off of the list after he had an elite season by most measures.
Still, you cannot throw Smith onto the list without taking someone off, or seeing where he ranks against those names. Check out some stats that show a better picture.
3. Raw stats
This is not everything, but while Bears fans will say watch the tape, so will 49ers fans. So, the box score can help us see who is a bit more productive. Below, you can see how the five stack up.
| Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | Fumb | Fumb | Def | Def | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | Year | G | Solo ā¼ |
Ast | QBHits | TFL | Sk | FF | FR | Int | TD |
| 1 | Bobby Wagner | 2021 | 13 | 83 | 69 | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Roquan Smith | 2021 | 14 | 81 | 59 | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Devin White | 2021 | 14 | 80 | 38 | 16 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Fred Warner | 2021 | 13 | 62 | 46 | 2 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Micah Parsons | 2021 | 14 | 57 | 19 | 27 | 17 | 12.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Roquan Smith ranks second in tackles, both solo, and combined. He does not have the quarterback hits that White and Parsons have but does have more tackles for loss than White. Smith also has a pick and a touchdown, while only Wagner has a pick.
Fred Warner has fumble recoveries, but that is not a great skill, and beyond that, he may be the least worthy of these five when it comes to the raw stats. Smith, who ranks second, fourth, second, third, and first in these stats, surely should not be fifth overall.