The Baltimore Ravens traded for inside linebacker Roquan Smith from the Chicago Bears prior to the 2022 trade deadline. They gave up multiple draft picks and a player to do so, signaling their trust that Smith can at least help their defense for the remainder of this year, and potentially far beyond.
Smith made his Baltimore debut in Week 9 against the New Orleans Saints on “Monday Night Football”, finishing with five tackles. Following the contest, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh discussed what he saw from the two-time All-Pro, mentioning how other players on the defense fed off of his energy.
“I think good players and great players make everybody around them better; would you agree with that? We have a number of guys on our defense who do that, and you add another guy like that into the mix. He’s a really good player, everybody knows it. What a great job he did to come in and learn the defense so quickly. He had no issues out there at all, as far as knowing what to do. Then all the sudden, he’s flying around, and he makes a couple plays and other guys kind of feed off of that just a little bit and your defense is that much better. When you have one guy playing well, it has an exponential effect kind of to everyone else. So, that’s kind of how it goes. I was looking forward to seeing how we looked out there with Roquan [Smith] out there, and I’m pretty fired up the way it looked.”
Robinson is an elite talent, putting up 2,959 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns on 6.3 yards per carry in just 28 games at Texas. He’s also a threat as a receiver, hauling in 60 passes for 805 yards and eight scores over the course of his college career. He has a good blend of size, speed and power, and his aggressive running style has him constantly churning out big gains.
While Robinson is regarded as the top running back in his class and a surefire first-round prospect, Baltimore doesn’t have a need at his position. With J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards already in the fold, the Ravens could instead look at wide receiver, offensive line, edge rusher, or cornerback with their first round selection. However, there’s no guarantee that Robinson falls to where they pick in the first place with how talented he is.
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