Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2018 9:27:27 GMT -6
We'll just have to wait and see how he performs. One writer mentioned that the problem shedding blocks was Urlacher's weakness too, and one he never did overcome. But he still turned out to be a good LB for us. Like others have pointed out, Smith is probably a great fit for Fangio's defense, so undoubtedly this played a role in drafting him. I'm always wanting to gamble and draft a high-ceiling guy, but all too often the Bears players we've gambled on, never hit that mythical "ceiling" which pretty much sucks for us. People are calling this Smith pick a "safe" pick. Maybe that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Scouts Inc. had Roquan graded out as tied as the 4th best player in this draft. They had him graded 1 point lower than Chubb and Nelson, who were tied as the #2 graded players in this draft. I don't know if that has any validity. But we're always clamoring here to go BPA. Well. Maybe Roquan Smith was the BPA at #8 this year, and to top that off he fits our D scheme well. So, I'm not losing any sleep over the pick. For that matter, it might be nice to have an All-Pro level LB here in Chicago again. This could be that guy. Time will tell.
p.s. I was hoping for Nelson last night. It broke my heart to see him go off the board :-)
The other thing that I feel is a misconception is the holy grail of athleticism. All that is is potential and most of the time that potential is never realized. You have to understand the game. You need to have great reaction times and when you have a high football IQ and fast reaction times, even a slower player will get to the ball faster than a faster player because they know where the ball will be.
Smith has the instincts already. There is no reason he won't be able to build on them over time. The ceiling thing is also peoples perceptions of what a player CAN be. How many times a season is that wrong?
I am fine with Smith. I would have loved Chubb or Nelson, but as we thought they were both gone. One more loss and we could have bagged Nelson. But it is what it is.