Smith's all-around play surfaced early on Chicago Bears' radar

“Probably about midseason,” G.M. Ryan Pace said, when he was asked when Smith first surfaced on the Bears’ radar. “Our scouts had been pounding the table for this guy for a long time. I remember (director of college scouting) Mark Sadowski, during the season talking about him then. His name’s come up a ton, and then, once you meet him, it just kind of cements it for you. He’s just a special person and a special player.”

Pace said it’s easy to see what Smith is as a player. He doesn’t flash with a few highlight plays and then disappear for long stretches. He’s the most complete inside linebacker in the draft, a productive tackler from bench to bench against the run, an effective blitzer and a…