After consecutive First-team All-Pro selections since being traded to the Baltimore Ravens, it is hard to find how inside linebacker Roquan Smith could be much better on the football field. Still, Smith had a lengthy answer when asked what areas he wanted to improve during training camp.
“I think there’s so many things I can get better at,” Smith said. “Whether that’s disengaging off of blocks quicker, because you can never be quick enough, [or] whether that’s route recognition, matching routes better, catching more interceptions – I dropped a few last year – and getting on the jugs even more. Things like that and causing more havoc and forcing more turnovers. That’s definitely a thing I want to do; get a lot more punches on the ball. [You can] expect that a little more – a lot of big hits. People curl up sometimes when I’m coming, but the fist is coming as well, so I’m excited about that and being able to showcase that and try to take my game to a new level.”
Smith will be vital as the defense transitions to a new defensive coordinator after losing Mike Macdonald this offseason. Smith will also have a new running mate as an inside linebacker after Patrick Queen departs to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency.