Chicago Bears: Why Roquan Smith was the perfect pick

Ryan Pace stuck to his guns and stayed at no. 8 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, The Chicago Bears selected Roquan Smith, the top linebacker in the entire draft.

The Chicago Bears kept everybody wondering what exactly they would do in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. As always, rumors swirled leading up to draft day. Many thought Ryan Pace would trade back and acquire additional picks while still getting a good value in the first round. Others believed the Bears could trade up for a guy like Bradley Chubb.

In the end, Pace stayed put and ended up with a phenomenal pick in Georgia inside linebacker Roquan Smith. A day-one starter, Smith will line up next to Danny Trevathan in the middle while his college buddy Leonard Floyd rushes the passer on the outside.

The linebacking core looks a lot better after this pick, and now the only question is, who will start opposite of Floyd? I believe we will find out this weekend, maybe as early as the second round.

Smith came into the draft as the best pure linebacker in all of college football. His final year with the Bulldogs was outstanding. Here are just a few of the accolades Smith racked up:

• 2017 Associated Press SEC Defensive Player of the Year
• 2017 Dick Butkus Award Winner (Nation’s best linebacker)
• 2017 SEC Championship Game MVP
• 137 total tackles in 2017

Let’s look a little closer at a few things that make Smith such a dynamic player.