Akeem Davis-Gaither

The Bengals' staff coached Davis-Gaither on the South team at the 2020 Senior Bowl, and then selected him in the fourth round of the draft three months later ... Touted by scouts for his speed, motor and instincts at LB, and was known at App State for his outstanding play in big games ... Capped a productive college career in 2019 by being named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year ... Racked up 258 career tackles, including 28 for losses and eight sacks, with 17 pass breakups, an INT, two FFs and a blocked FG ... Topped 100 tackles in each of his final two seasons at App State ... His father, Keith, is longtime assistant coach in the college ranks, and is currently the WRs coach at Army.

A 2020 Bengals fourth-round pick, Davis-Gaither enters his second season looking to expand his role after seeing time as a rotational LB as a rookie ... Played in all 16 games as a rookie, seeing action on 29.6 percent of defensive snaps, and totaled 26 tackles, a half sack, an INT and three PDs ... Also a valuable contributor on special teams, with five tackles ... In college at Appalachian State, posted 28 career tackles for losses, and eight sacks, 17 pass breakups, an INT, two FFs and a blocked FG ... Capped a productive college career in 2019 by being named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year ... Coached by the Bengals' staff at the 2020 Senior Bowl (South team) ... His father, Keith Gaither, is longtime assistant coach in the college ranks, and is currently the WRs coach at Army.

Career transactions: Selected by Cincinnati in fourth round of 2020 NFL Draft (107th overall) ... Signed with Bengals on 7-21-20.

2020 highlights: Played in all 16 games (two starts) for Bengals as a rookie ... Saw time mostly as a rotational linebacker, and played 29.6 percent of team's defensive snaps ... Totaled 26 tackles, a half sack, one INT and three PDs on defense, along with five tackles on special teams ... Both starts (Games 5 and 16) were as a third LB ... Made NFL debut in season opener on Sept. 13 vs. L.A. Chargers, and made three tackles ... Got into sack column for first time on Oct. 4 vs. Jacksonville, with a half sack of Gardner Minshew on a third down that forced a Jaguars punt ... Made first career start on Oct. 11 at Baltimore, and recorded four tackles and a PD ... Logged season-high 10 tackles in season finale vs. Baltimore, and recorded first career INT when he hauled in a tipped pass from Lamar Jackson in the second quarter.

College: Spent five seasons (2015-19) at Appalachian State, with a redshirt year in '15 ... Played in 55 career games and totaled 258 tackles, including 28 for losses and eight sacks, with 17 pass breakups, one INT, two FFs and a blocked FG ... In his five college seasons, he helped App State to a 54-12 record, a 5-0 mark in bowl games and four straight conference titles ... Named Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2019.

Personal: Hometown is Thomasville, N.C. (outside Greensboro) ... Attended Thomasville High School, where as a senior he totaled 115 tackles, including 33 for losses and five sacks, along with two FFs ... In addition to LB duties, he also played RB and posted eight rushing TDs over his final two seasons ... A multi-sport athlete, he earned three varsity letters in track and field, two in basketball and one in baseball ... Youngest of three siblings ... Father, Keith Gather, is a longtime assistant coach in the college ranks, and is currently the WRs coach at Army ... First name is pronounced "AH-keem" and last name is pronounced "DAY-viss-GAY-thur."