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 ▼ |
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.
2. Coverage Stats
49ers fans are screaming that Warner does not get the tackles for loss or sacks, but he gets the coverage plays. However, Smith has good numbers when stacked up against his peers.
In average depth of the target, Smith is the lowest of the group. Teams do not test him downfield, as his ADOT is 2.7 yards, per PFF. The other four all sit between 4.2 and 4.7, showing the respect Smith gets.
Despite that, he is second to Fred Warner in forced incompletions. That is with Smith being targeted a full two yards closer to the line on average. Warner also ranks first in snaps per reception, but Smith ranks third in this group.
However, when Warner is targeted, he is allowing a 115 passer rating, while Smith is at 85.6. Only Micah Parsons has been better in coverage, but Smith has over double the amount of coverage snaps as Parsons.
Warner is up and down as he is not targeted in coverage, but he has not been shut down when tested this year. Beyond that, Devin White is worse in coverage across the board than Roquan Smith.
1. Run Defense Stats
Roquan Smith is likely the best against the run. Micah Parsons lines up on the edge too much to really compare, but besides Parsons, Smith has 34 run stops. The other three have 26, 23, and 18.
His run stop rate is 9.5, which beats the others at 7.9, 7.7, and 7.1. Warner and Wagner miss fewer tackles, but White and Parsons miss nearly twice as many.
Lastly is the depth of the tackle. Smith does his work closer to the line. His depth of tackle against the run is 3.4 while the rest are at 3.6, 3.7, and 4.5.
When you put this all together, the reality is that Smith is the most complete of them all. White and Parsons are better as pass rushers, Warner is boom or bust, and Smith is better than Wagner in most if not all areas.
In contrast, it is almost like the pass rush stats of White and Parsons boosted them. Wagner gets respected more in coverage, and Wagner is the old-time name brand veteran. The consistency and all-around play of Smith did not have him stand out anywhere, but rather sit in as the best or second in most areas.