Did Chicago Bears linebacker, Roquan Smith earn a fair Madden 23 rating?

Considering the history of the Chicago Bears and the Madden franchise, it’s not overly surprising to see players getting snubbed left and right.

That is no different for Roquan Smith and his ranking among linebackers in Madden 23.

Now, this isn’t as egregious as some of the notorious snubs in Madden 23, but Roquan Smith is at very least a top-five linebacker in the NFL. This year, in Matt Eberflus’ defensive scheme, he should shine even brighter than he has in his four-year career thus far.

Roquan Smith continues the Chicago Bears “snub fest” with Madden 23 ratings

With five linebackers above him in this year’s installment of Madden, let’s take a look at the stat sheet among these linebackers to see how far off Madden is — if at all.

Top 10 linebackers in Madden 23

1. Fred Warner: 94 overall
   137 tackles (79 solo, 58 assisted); 0.5 sacks; 7 TFLs; 0 INTs; 1 FF; 3 FRs
2. Demario Davis: 93 overall
   105 tackles (70 solo, 35 assisted); 3 sacks; 13 TFLs; 0 INTs; 0 FFs; 0 FRs
3. Lavonte Davis: 92 overall
   97 tackles (63 solo, 34 assisted); 2 sacks; 5 TFLs; 0 INTs; 2 FFs; 1 FR
4. Bobby Wagner: 92 overall
   170 tackles (93 solo, 77 assisted); 1 sack; 3 TFLs; 1 INT; 1 FF; 0 FRs
5. Darius Leonard: 90 overall
   122 tackles (75 solo, 47 assisted); 0 sacks; 4 TFLs; 4 INTs; 8 FFs; 3 FRs
6. Roquan Smith: 89 overall
   163 tackles (95 solo, 68 assisted); 3 sacks; 12 TFLs; 1 INT; 0 FFs; 0 FRs
7. Micah Parsons: 88 overall
   84 tackles (64 solo, 20 assisted); 13 sacks; 20 TFLs; 0 INTs; 3 FFs; 0 FRs
8. Eric Kendricks: 88 overall
   143 tackles (81 solo, 62 assisted); 5 sacks; 8 TFLs; 2 INTs; 0 FFs; 1 FR
9. De’Vondre Campbell: 87 overall
   146 tackles (102 solo, 44 assisted); 2 sacks; 6 TFLs; 2 INTs; 2 FFs; 1 FR
10. Devin White: 85 overall
    128 tackles (87 solo, 41 assisted); 3.5 sacks; 8 TFLs; 0 INTs; 0 FFs; 1 FR

Of this list, Roquan Smith only trails Bobby Wagner in total tackles, however, his sack number (3.0) is one of the more glaring numbers. That being said, Smith has rarely been a pass-rusher in his NFL career. In four years with the Chicago Bears, he’s accumulated 14 sacks. That’s not a bad number, per se, but the Madden rankers clearly prefer linebackers with higher sack numbers.

That said, Roquan Smith is a top-five linebacker in the NFL. Having him outside the top five is disrespectful. However, it’s a common theme for Roquan Smith to get snubbed, and yet, he keeps on producing at a high caliber. These numbers and rankings clearly don’t mean much to the Chicago Bears’ defensive leader.

To the fans, however, it’s like a dagger through the heart.

Not only has Roquan Smith been a stud his entire career with the Bears thus far, but having the defensive scheme that Matt Eberflus has in place– a scheme that elevated Darius Leonard as one of the best linebackers in the entire league — could pay dividends to Roquan Smith and these essentially meaningless rankings and overalls.