I will go to my grave insisting that Roquan Smith was the best player at Bears training camp last year.
In his first full camp, Smith more than held his own on a side featuring Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Kyle Fuller, and Eddie Jackson. Granted, they were going up against the Bears' offense, but whatever – he was great. He looked like a star.
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But now – 12 games, 66 solo tackles and two sacks later – things don't feel as rosy. 2019 was a step back for Smith, a season mainly spent rediscovering his on-field form while also dealing with a handful of off-field concerns. When healthy, Smith's one of the most gifted players the Bears employ. But many of the strengths – pass coverage, mainly – that had him taken 8th overall in the 2018 draft just haven't translated yet. So what has to happen for Ryan Pace to avoid going 0-2 on taking linebackers in the first round?
Smith's certainly not in danger of being labeled a bust, and it's pretty obvious that he's already more valuable to the Bears than Leonard Floyd ever was. Case in point: he basically doesn't miss tackles. According to Pro Football Focus, Smith has made 171 tackles over the last two years and only missed 17. His six missed tackles in 2019 was tied for 4th best in football. His overall tackling grade (82.5) from last season was 10th best. Even if this is as good as it gets for him, there's a spot on NFL rosters – be it in Chicago or elsewhere – for guys that reliable. When you're putting up tackling numbers that rival KJ Wright, Darius Leonard, and Luke Kuechly, you're a good football player.
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That's sort of the issue, though: is Roquan Smith a good football player, or is Roquan Smith a great football player? Much of why Ryan Pace picked Smith over the likes Leonard, or Tremaine Edmunds, or Leighton Vander Esch, was Smith's abilities in pass coverage. It was his calling card, frankly. At the time, Bleacher Report's lead draft writer Matt Miller wrote that Smith was a "instinctive, rangy linebacker prospect with speed to dominate outside the hashes" and compared him to Thomas Davis. PFF called him "the prototypical NFL linebacker for the modern game."
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And while there's been some debate about the quality of pass coverage Smith's provided through his first 28 games, there's no denying that it could be better. PFF gave him a 55.4 grade in coverage last year, which is both very bad and a steep decline from his rookie year (67.8). What's interesting about their grading is that, while typically reliable, the subjectivity PFF factors into said grades can often times muddy the water. Per the same website, his reception percentage, yards per reception, and passer rating against all improved in 2019. It's not the only evidence that suggests he wasn't as unplayable in passing downs as the narrative suggests.
Still, as Smith enters the infamous Third Year, he finds himself embroiled in Online Discourse about whether he's a two- or three-down back. That in and of itself is not particularly encouraging. But Smith should be afforded the same level of patience that other early draft picks – at say, the quarterback and wide receiver positions – have been given. He's a good, maybe great player that's only going to get better lined up next to Danny Trevathan for another season. You have plenty of other Bears stuff to worry about, so do yourself a favor and leave Smith off that list.