Oakland Raiders 2018 NFL Draft, Week 13: 5 first-round targets
By John Buhler
One player that has made a huge charge up team’s draft boards of late in Georgia Bulldogs junior inside linebacker Roquan Smith. He is a tackling menace on the SEC East championship team in Athens. He might have come back to Georgia for his senior season in 2018, but you have to go pro if you’re garnering a top-10 grade, right?
Smith has played in 35 careers games at Georgia in three years. He has 215 total tackles (123 solo, 92 assists), 8.5 for a loss of yardage, 4.5 quarterback sacks, three passes defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
In essence, the Raiders would be getting a younger version of NaVorro Bowman in Smith. He may not be the pass defender that Bowman was in his prime with the San Francisco 49ers. However, Smith has been the signature player in Kirby Smart‘s revamped Georgia defenses of the last two years. The guy is a football player and a great one at that.
At 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, Smith could be a little slight to play inside linebacker at that weight in the NFL for very long. Do expect him to put on some weight once he goes pro. The guy is a very cerebral player. He makes great adjustments on the fly. If he’s the next Thomas Davis coming out of Georgia, the Raiders would absolutely take that out of Smith: stability at inside linebacker for well over a decade.