NFL Draft grades: 10 first-round picks that get an A

Roquan Smith – Chicago Bears (Pick #8)

One team that will look completely different next season is the Chicago Bears. The made splashes on offense in free agency with Trey Burton, Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel. In the first round of the draft they added the best defensive player in the entire class in linebacker Roquan Smith. In my eyes there was no one defensive player that brings to a defense what Smith will bring to this Bears unit.

Chicago kicked off their offseason with cutting most of their linebackers. Jerrell Freeman, Willie Young and Pernell McPhee are all no longer with the team. Smith will take over Freeman’s role and excel as a rangy middle linebacker. Despite being undersized, the leader of the Bulldogs defense will be a young leader for a young defense providing speed and athleticism up the middle.

In today’s NFL linebackers need to be faster and better in coverage than ever before. Smith is the prototype for that. At only 6-foot-1 and 236 pounds, his size scares some teams. He makes up for that with plus instincts and even better range.

Smith is a missile when tracking the ball carrier. Reading lineman while scraping over the top and filling lanes will be Smith’s greatest strength in the run game. There will be no worries about him coming off the field in passing downs either. An elite athlete and cerebral linebacker like this is rare.

The Bears are building something. A revamped offense will be the highlight. What really will propel this team is a strong defense like a year ago getting better and it started with Smith leading the way.