NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal examined one key homegrown player — a player on a rookie deal — for each NFL team that figures to make a significant impact in 2020. For the Chicago Bears, it was inside linebacker Roquan Smith, who’s entering his third season.
Bears fans love Roquan Smith. Bears coaches love Roquan Smith. Bears teammates love Roquan Smith. PFF does not love Roquan Smith. Smith ranked 44th among 58 off-ball linebackers who played at least 500 snaps last season. The eye test isn’t thrilling, either. He gets washed out of running plays too often. His expected strength entering the league was in pass coverage, but he hasn’t stood out there, either, sometimes getting taken off the field. There is value in a heady defensive signal-caller whom numbers can’t fully evaluate, but there just haven’t been the impact plays expected from a top-10 pick. Perhaps this is the year Smith earns all that love.
Following an impressive rookie campaign, Smith suffered a setback in his sophomore year. But after a slow start, Smith was playing some of the best football before he suffered a torn pectoral muscle that caused him to miss the final three games of the season.
Last season, Smith had a team-best 101 tackles, including five tackles for loss, two sacks, two passes defensed and an interception.
Smith says he has a “huge chip” on his shoulder heading into 2020, and he believes that this will be his best season yet. This is shaping up to be an important year for Smith, who will be playing for his next contract.
“I just feel like I have a lot that I have to live up to myself — my personal goals and then team goals and things of that nature,” Smith said. “I’m definitely just trying to make this year my best year possible, better than any of the other years I’ve had, and just maximize myself.
“If I come out each and every week and play to my standard, I feel like everything else will just take care of itself. That’s my main thing, like, coming out and playing to my standard, doing whatever I can to control what I can, and not letting up anything. Just being relentless. Just putting everything on me.”
And given some of the moves the Bears made on defense this offseason — including the addition of outside linebacker Robert Quinn and resigning Smith’s running mate in linebacker Danny Trevathan — this could be a big year for the entire defense.
[vertical-gallery id=447919]
[lawrence-related id=448620,448598,448590,448566,448563,448481]