| No. 59 – Cincinnati Bengals | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | September 21, 1997 Thomasville, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 228 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Thomasville (NC) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Appalachian State (2015–2019) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2020 / Round: 4 / Pick: 107 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||||
Akeem Brian Davis-Gaither (born September 21, 1997) is an American football linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Appalachian State.
Davis-Gaither attended Thomasville High School in Thomasville, North Carolina. As a senior in 2015, he had 115 tackles with five sacks and also had eight rushing touchdowns as a running back. He committed to Appalachian State University to play college football.
Davis-Gaither played at Appalachian State from 2015 to 2019.[1][2] As a senior in 2019, he was the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year after recording 101 tackles, five sacks and an interception.[3][4] For his career, Davis-Gaither had 201 tackles, 6.5 sacks and the interception.[5]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Bench press | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1+1⁄2 in (1.87 m) |
224 lb (102 kg) |
31+1⁄8 in (0.79 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
21 reps | ||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[6][7] | ||||||||||||
Davis-Gaither was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round with the 107th pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.[8] In Week 17 against the Baltimore Ravens, Davis-Gaither recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Lamar Jackson during the 38–3 loss.[9]
On November 9, 2021, Davis-Gaither was placed on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury in Week 9.[10] In 2022, Davis recorded a career high 46 tackles and his first fumble recovery. He also intercepted a pass in the Bengals wildcard playoff win against the Ravens.