Chicago Bears: 5 changes that must be made before Seahawks game

Time for the Kid

Nick Kwiatkoski performed admirably in the game against the Packers. He clearly knows the playbook and is always aware of where he needs to be on a particular play or in a particular coverage. However, he doesn’t always have the athleticism to get there.

You know who does? Roquan Smith. The No. 8 overall pick has incredible speed and athleticism, particularly from sideline to sideline. He is also adept in coverage, which is something that Kwiatkoski clearly struggled with Sunday night.

After Danny Trevathan exited in the game with an injury that looked much worse than it ended up being, Smith got his first action in a regular season game — and he did not disappoint.

Mack brought the pressure off the edge and was able to trip up Deshone Kizer momentarily, allowing Smith to shed his blocker and come in for a monster sack.

The Bears defense was so impressive in the first half. It’s clear they ran out of gas in the second half, but they were also impacted by Rodgers delivering the ball much more quickly. Had they played Smith more in the game he could have neutralized a lot of what Rodgers was doing.

At this point, the Bears defense has a chance to be really special this unit. In order to accomplish that, they need to put their best players on the field, and that means Smith must start on Monday and going forward for the rest of the season.