Chicago Bears: 3 Players to watch in the 2019 season

2. LB Roquan Smith

Smith was the last first-round pick to sign his rookie contract last year, and he was noticeably a step behind the rest of his defensive teammates when the year got started as a result. This year, though, he’s coming in with a full offseason of work under his belt and new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano will likely be looking for all sorts of new ways to deploy him to wreak havoc against opposing offenses.

Smith was the consensus number one linebacker in last year’s draft class, and it was for good reason after the college career he had. In his final season at Georgia, he piled up an incredible 137 tackles, including 14 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. His elite athleticism allows him to cover from sideline-to-sideline and he can be on the field in all situations as a result because he can match up well with tight ends and running backs.

Smith finished the year with 121 total tackles and five sacks and those numbers should only go up this year as he’ll be a 16-game starter this year rather than missing the first two. He also had five passes defended last season. He’s the prototypical do it all linebacker that teams covet and he’s going to be the next generational talent to dominate for an elite Bears defense.