Since his MVP performance in the 2018 SEC Championship game, Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith has risen in SB Nation’s 2018 NFL Draft projection.
SB Nation initially predicted Smith would be drafted 15th overall by the Dallas Cowboys in April's NFL Draft, but has since moved to ninth overall by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Smith, who has yet to declare for the NFL Draft, has had his best season statistically as a junior with the Bulldogs, racking up 113 total tackles, 5.5 sacks, two deflected passes, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.
“It was tempting to give Cincinnati a quarterback because chances are Marvin Lewis might finally be gone, and a new coach might not want Andy Dalton,” SB Nation’s Dan Kadar wrote. “But this pick sticks with needs, and Smith is the type of sure tackler Cincinnati needs.”
The last two Georgia Bulldogs to be drafted in the Top 10 were outside linebacker Leonard Floyd to the Chicago Bears with the ninth overall pick in 2016 and running back Todd Gurley to the former St. Louis Rams in 2015.
Kadar's full mock draft can be read on SB Nation's website.
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