Akeem Davis-Gaither

Linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither talked about the defense ahead of the Week 8 contest against the New York Jets.

Bengals linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither speaks with the media about his preseason debut and his play during training camp.

Bengals linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither intercepts the Lamar Jackson pass in the second quarter versus the Ravens.

NFL Network's Lance Zierlein grades the Cincinnati Bengals' 2020 draft class.

Watch every pick by the Cincinnati Bengals from the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Cincinnati Bengals select Appalachian State linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither with No. 107 overall pick in Round 4 of the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Bengals made four roster moves, all on defense, ahead of the bye week.

A look ahead to players on both sides of the ball with breakout potential in 2021.

After a series of free-agent pickups and draft picks, the Bengals head into 2020 with a linebacker room they hope is better equipped to deal with what is trending with NFL offenses. It's an infusion of talent that has Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo excited not just for this season, but for years to come.

The Bengals signed four of their seven draft picks. The signings included LB Logan Wilson, LB Akeem Davis-Gaither, OT/G Hakeem Adeniji and LB Markus Bailey.

In recent years players like wide receivers Tyler Boyd and Auden Tate or defensive linemen Sam Hubbard have emerged as a breakout star for the Bengals. Broadcasters Dan Hoard and Dave Lapham, along with Bengals.com writers Geoff Hobson and Michael LaPlaca, predict who could be the Bengals breakout star in 2020.

Brian Simmons, the most versatile linebacker in Bengals history, helped the future this offseason when an old fellow linebacker from a long-ago North Carolina high school all-star game called with a favor. Keith Gaither asked Simmons to call his son and offer advice for one of the three linebackers the Bengals drafted.

The call came the other day because it always does. Every day. Keith Gaither never wanted his son to play where he coached. But he has never stopped coaching Akeem Davis-Gaither. Over the phone or in a text or on the film.

The Bengals received high marks across the board from analysts and the national media in the first virtual draft. With the Bengals draft complete after making seven picks in three days, here are seven things learned from the draft.

The Joe Burrow Draft is in the books and fittingly it seems to be as much about intelligence and intangibles as much as it is innate physical talent. They'll have to start calling Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin "Captain Obvious." After Burrow, they drafted five more captains and, naturally, the last one, Purdue linebacker Markus Bailey, is a co-captain pursuing his master's in leadership to end a draft CBS made them the big winner, and The Sporting News gave them an A-plus while USA Today, Sports Illustrated and SB Nation all weighed in at A-minus.

After watching the Bengals take a linebacker in the third round on Friday, Akeem Davis-Gaither didn't think he was going to the team that he clicked so well with at the Senior Bowl. But the Cincinnati coaches and scouts knew all along they wanted the 'Alpha Male' from that South defense.

The Bengals selected linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither from Appalachian State in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Bengals began the last day of the draft the way they ended the second one at the top of the fourth round Saturday when they continued to attack their linebacker corps by taking another projected three-down player they saw up close at the Senior Bowl in Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Akeem Davis-Gaither.

The Bengals fourth round pick was once a two-star recruit, but developed into the top defensive player in the Sun Belt Conference at Appalachian State.