Akeem Davis-Gaither’s knee “basically bone on bone” and he played through stress fracture in 2019

The Cincinnati Bengals got a firsthand look at their fourth-round pick, Akeem Davis-Gaither, during the Senior Bowl.

What they saw there must’ve blown them away as the Bengals opted to look past Davis Gaither’s lingering injuries, something that should’ve been a major concern for an organization that is coming off a season absolutely crippled by injury.

This past season, Davis-Gaither suffered a foot fracture in the third game of the season, but he somehow managed to play through it all the way through the Senior Bowl.

But there’s a more serious problem for the linebacker, the team’s second straight pick at the position. According to 105.3 The Fan’s Jeff Cavanaugh who quoted his co-worker Bryan Broaddus, the injury concern isn’t his foot but rather his knee.

It’s apparently bone-to-bone, and that’s something that could linger and worsen throughout both the offseason and early into his playing career, potentially hindering his available in the long-term future.

The Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year, Davis-Gaither is a second-round talent that continued to dip due to his injuries. Playing in all 14 games during his final season at Appalachian State, ADG totaled 101 total tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks.

Stacking their linebacking corps, the Bengals need ADG to play at a high level. But, given their depth now with the addition of Logan Wilson in the third round, it won’t be the end of the day if ADG missing some time.

This is truly a boom-or-bust pick.