Rigged Fan Survey Just Gave Roquan Smith Even More Fuel

It's hardly anything new. Chicago Bears fans have known for a long time there's a national bias against their team. Players who should be acknowledge for how good they are rarely get mentioned. Perhaps the poster boy for that reality this offseason is Roquan Smith. Here's one of the most exciting young linebackers in the league and his name is rarely mentioned.

Want the latest of many examples? Check out this fan survey conducted by Zac Boyer of The Athletic. In it, he asked the question. Which young linebacker would you choose for the next decade? Smith being just 23-years old, one would think he at least deserves mention on the list of nominees. Nope. Of the six names listed, he was not on it.

In fact, he wasn't even mentioned at all.

"Although you could — and did — make a case for anyone we suggested, you overwhelmingly chose the Steelers’ Watt over the rest of the group. And don’t think we didn’t see your calls for the 49ers’ Fred Warner, another worthy nominee, in the comments!"

Roquan Smith is every bit as good as most of those guys

Now guys like Edmunds, Watt, and Leonard deserve their places on that list. However, one could easily make a case that Smith could replace any of the other three. Even a mention over Warner whom he has more interceptions and sacks than despite playing four fewer games. The guy was one of the best in the league right before he suffered his pectoral injury last season.

It's just further proof that the NFL is rigged towards teams with recent winning traditions. Think about it. Watt and Bush? The Steelers. Leonard? The Colts. Smith? The Cowboys. Edmunds? The Bills. Since the Bears have only made the playoffs once in the past 10 seasons, people have relegated them to the back pages of notoriety, even if they still feature great players.

Not that Smith will complain. He can just use this as more motivation to make everybody learn his name in 2020.