BOONE, N.C. — The Cincinnati Bengals reopened the NFL Draft with a bang Saturday, using the first pick of the fourth round to select hard-hitting App State linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither.
He went 107st overall to the Bengals, whose coaches were in charge of the South team for which Davis-Gaither excelled during the Reese's Senior Bowl in late January. It's the second-highest pick of a Sun Belt Conference linebacker in the history of the league, after only Arkansas State's Demario Davis (No. 77 in 2012).
Moving forward from a 13-1 season in which it finished with a top-20 ranking in both national polls, App State was the first Group of Five program to have two players picked in the 2020 NFL Draft, as running back Darrynton Evans went to the Tennessee Titans in the third round.