Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace hasn’t managed to hit on his first-round draft picks, but his best chance comes with third-year inside linebacker Roquan Smith.
Smith, a former No. 8 overall pick in 2018, has shown immense promise in his first two seasons. As a rookie, Smith tallied 114 total tackles, five sacks, five passes defensed and one interception.
Bleacher Report believes inside linebacker Roquan Smith is Chicago’s most promising building block, who they dub as “a young, inexpensive player on their rookie deal” that “has yet to realize their full potential.”
After an impressive rookie season in which he tallied 121 tackles, Roquan Smith looked to be on his way to becoming one of the best inside linebackers in the game. However, he got off to a slow start in his second season.
To his credit, Smith rebounded over the season’s second half, and he finished Year 2 with 101 stops, two sacks and an interception.
Smith’s range, athleticism and instincts are all excellent, so it’s a matter of putting it all together in 2020.
While Smith had a slow start to his sophomore season, he was playing his best football before he went down with a torn pectoral muscle against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14.
“I saw unbelievable growth from him [in 2019],” Bears inside linebackers coach Mark DeLeone said of Smith, per the Chicago Sun-Times‘ Mark Potash. “From the first game to the 13th game, saw growth in him on and off the field. I see a 22-year-old guy who is only going to continue to improve.”
