When talking about the best off-ball linebackers in the NFL, people go to names like Darius Leonard, Lavonte David, Bobby Wagner, and Myles Jack among others. Not a lot of people bother to bring up the name Roquan Smith. Why is that? It’s not like he isn’t deserving. Through his first two seasons, the former 8th overall pick racked up 223 tackles, seven sacks, and two interceptions. This despite missing four games with a pec injury.
The production is there and the tape seems to back it up as well. There are stretches where it seems like Smith is literally everywhere. Offenses can’t escape him. One man who has taken notice is Arif Hasan of The Athletic. The longtime NFL analyst believes the Bears linebacker is much better than he gets credit for.
Somebody offenses can’t afford to ignore.
“Though it took a bit of haggling to get Roquan Smith onto the field at first for the Bears and a few more games to get his feet under him, he’s been a consistent force for their defense since then. He had another wonderful game, this time against the Indianapolis Colts, who have one of the most stacked rosters in the NFL.
Though a bad missed tackle in coverage might stand out initially, his presence behind the line of scrimmage was enormous, and he was responsible for 13 combined tackles, including three for loss and eight total “stops”, which are tackles that put the offense behind schedule.”
Unreal effort by Roquan Smith but it’s coming back since he was out of bounds 🤦🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/Sf4VH34jYH
— Bears On Tap (@BearsOnTap) October 4, 2020
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Roquan Smith's ability in coverage is night and day from what it was even a year ago — he used to get lost on RB angle patterns like this one consistently, now he's surprisingly sticky when tracking his man.
Very good to see from the young #Bears LB pic.twitter.com/F3QezMMij3
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) September 29, 2020
Roquan Smith gets lost in middle of a great defense
The reality is Smith doesn’t get his due because of who he plays with. Think about the talent the Bears defense has. When people bring it up, the names that dominate discussions are always Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Eddie Jackson, and Kyle Fuller. With a group like that, it’s no wonder Smith finds it difficult to get noticed.
One thing is for sure. The Bears love having him and know his value to the team. He is currently on pace for 132 tackles this season. That’s a total this team hasn’t seen since the end of the Urlacher and Briggs era. Even as this defense could be in store for changes after this year, there is no question Smith will form part of its future.
