Akeem Davis-Gaither, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, has a nice ring to it.
It’s a longshot, of course. But the Appalachian State linebacker and fourth-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals sports some interesting odds to win the award ahead of his rookie campaign.
Over at BetMGM, Davis-Gaither checks in at about 60-1 odds to pull the award. That’s still well behind the 5-2 odds for Washington Redskins’ No. 2 pick Chase Young, but it’s better than most. It’s also slightly better than Bengals third-round pick Logan Wilson.
Widely considered one of the best Day 3 picks of the draft outright, Davis-Gaither figures to play at least a situational role for the Bengals right out of the gates.
But with Germaine Pratt, Wilson and rookie Markus Bailey looking for work at linebacker, plus guys at safety like Vonn Bell, Davis-Gaither has some work to do before he can break into serious playing time.
That said, Davis-Gaither has shocked more than once already over the course of his career. He’s smaller but wicked-athletic, which could see him putting up some big plays that potentially indeed push him into the conversation for some individual hardware.
