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The Cincinnati Bengals have by and large had one of the better performances of any team in the 2020 NFL draft over three days.
That trend continued at the top of the seventh round with Purdue linebacker Markus Bailey.
Bailey is a value-buy of sorts given some of his injury history weighed against his immense production.
Here’s NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:
“Lunch-pail linebacker able to consistently chalk up production totals in a variety of columns despite a lack of top-tier athleticism. Bailey’s intent and play strength are factors that stand out in his success. His effort rarely wavers during a rep and he has the strength and football IQ to put himself in quality positions to make plays. He needs to process blocking schemes faster and take more chances, as his athletic limitations will show up more frequently against NFL competition. Knee injuries in 2015 and 2019 might hurt his draft standing a little bit, but he has middle-round talent as a quality three-down backup.”
Bailey is a very smart linebacker who tends to keep the action in front of him and is more than happy to get dirty making plays. 14.5 sacks, six interceptions and 89 or more tackles says it all.
While taking another linebacker smacks as redundant at this point after Akeem Davis-Gaither and Logan Wilson, Bailey was just that good of a value. And looking at the board after this pick, the Bengals weren’t missing out on much anyway.
With good value here at a problematic unit, the Bengals get some extra chances to make things right via Bailey.
Grade: A
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