The comparisons to Ray Lewis and Derrick Brooks speak volumes.
With that, former Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith will be the first former Bulldog selected in the NFL draft, which is set for Thursday through Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
“He is a tremendous player,” said Phil Savage, the director of the Senior Bowl and former NFL general manager, scout and coach. “He makes guys around him better. He’s got range. He can defend the run and the pass.
“He honestly reminded me a lot of Ray Lewis as I was getting ready for the national championship game. I put the tapes on and said, ‘Wow, this Number 3 is really a great player.’ ”
Savage was not the only analyst to compare Smith to a Hall of Fame linebacker.
“Roquan Smith, to me, he's so easy to love when you look at everything he brings to the table,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “And I think interview-wise and teams doing their background on him. I think that puts him way up there. You look at the Bay Area teams, (San Francisco) and (Oakland), that makes a lot of sense for him there.
“And you look at Jon Gruden having been around Derrick Brooks, I would think he could see a little bit of Derrick Brooks in a guy like Roquan Smith, so that makes sense there.”
San Francisco picks ninth and Oakland 10th.
Smith’s ability to play sideline-to-sideline and cover running backs and tight ends is intriguing to NFL personnel scouts.
“I love Roquan Smith,” said ESPN matchup analyst Greg Cosell. “I just think there is not a lot of mystery to his game. I think it doesn’t need to be over evaluated.
“He is a really good, stacked inside backer. He’s got great speed, great range. He plays that way. He plays to his speed.”
Smith’s plan to get heavier for the NFL scouting combine almost backfired.
“I know that he bulked up just to go to the combine, Cosell said. “He won’t play at 236 pounds. He’ll probably play more at 225. You can do that now in this league as we know from someone like (Falcons linebacker) Deion Jones. I guess even (Seattle linebacker) Bobby Wagner is probably I guess 230 pounds at most. I really like Roquan Smith on film. I can’t imagine that he’ll be a different player in the NFL.”
Once Smith is selected, guard Isaiah Wynn, running backs Sony Michel and Nick Chubb and defensive end/outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter should be the next Bulldogs drafted.
“When you get to Carter, he's a little bit of a challenging evaluation, because I think he's right now at this point in time, he's a better athlete than just pure football player,” Jeremiah said. “When you talk about somebody that's 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, that runs high 4.4, low 4.5 ... look at the Notre Dame game especially, you can see what he can become. He's not consistent right now.”
Jeremiah’s projects that Carter will go in the second round.
“I have him as my 48th player,” Jeremiah said. “But it wouldn't shock me if he snuck in the bottom of (the first round) because the talk about the edge rusher group not being all that great is valid. But to me he's a second-round type guy.”
Chubb and Michel were a dynamic duo for the Bulldogs and led them to an appearance in the national championship game.
Michel rushed 590 times for 3,613 yards and 33 touchdowns over his four-year career at Georgia. He caught 64 passes for 621 yards and six touchdowns.
Chubb rushed 758 times for 4,769 yards and 44 touchdowns in his four-year career at Georgia. He also caught 31 passes for 361 yards and four touchdowns.
Chubb measured 5-10 and weighed 227 pounds at the scouting combine. Chubb and Penn State’s Saquon Barkley led all running backs as both lifted 225 pounds 29 times. Michel did 22 reps of the weight.
“When you look at the running backs, I think both of these running backs are outstanding,” said NFL Network draft analyst Bucky Brooks, a former player and scout. “I think they're different stylistically.”
Michel is expected to be drafted before Chubb.
“Sony is dynamic, he's explosive,” Brooks said. “He's proven to be a very, very effective runner and receiver. I think he will benefit from the Alvin Kamara comparison that many scouts have put on him.”
Kamara, the former Tennessee and Alabama running back from Norcross High, was drafted in the third round (67th overall) last season by the Saints. He went on to win the Associated Press’ rookie of the year award.
“When you look at the impact that Kamara was able to have with the New Orleans Saints as a change-of-pace or matchup weapon, I think many offensive coordinators will view (Michel) like that,” Brooks said. “Because of that, I think he can go anywhere from the bottom of the first round to the top of the second round for a team that is looking for a chess piece to manipulate on the board.”
Chubb is projected to be drafted in the second round by NFLDraftScout.com.
“Nick Chubb is an old-school, downhill running back,” Brooks said. “He's a guy that traditionally would have played in the '80s and '90s, come down hill, put him at the dot in I-formation and let him have 25 to 30 carries.”
However, the NFL has evolved to more of a passing league. Teams wanted to know if Chubb could catch the ball out of the backfield.
“In today's game that is more of a niche role where you see those guys playing on first and second down, and because of that I believe his value will be depressed a little bit,” Brooks said. “I see him as maybe a solid second-round back, a guy that kind of goes and joins a rotation, handles the early duties before giving way to another back that can handle some of the things in the passing game.”
Here’s where the other Georgia prospects are projected to be drafted: wide receiver Javon Wims (fourth round), defensive tackle Trenton Thompson (fourth round), safety Dominick Sanders (sixth or seventh round), defensive tackle John Atkins (seventh round), edge rusher Davin Bellamy (free agent) and cornerback Aaron Davis (free agent).
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