Chicago Bears: 3 bold predictions for Roquan Smith

Tackling machine

By the end of this season, Smith will lead the Bears defense in tackles. Even if he somehow is not in the starting lineup in week one, I am still confident Smith will finish first in tackles. He was a tackling machine in college.

Still, the most unbelievable statistic I have heard in a long time pertains to Smith. Last season, while playing in the best conference in college football, Smith missed just one tackle in run defense. And it’s not as if he didn’t have opportunities. Smith finished with 73 tackles while in run defense.

Simply put, if Smith is in the same area of the ball carrier, he’s going down. He also has a knack for being around the football. His instincts are phenomenal, and his speed is even more impressive.

So what kind of a season would he have to put together to lead the Bears in tackles this year? For context, Christian Jones led the team last year in tackles with a total of 90. By comparison, in one fewer game, Smith had 137 total tackles. To further put that in context, he had 85 solo tackles. Therefore, he had nearly as many solo tackles as the Bears 2017 leader had total tackles, and he played one fewer game.