The Cincinnati Bengals UDFA You Must Watch in Camp This Year: LB Vontaze Burfict

Every year, an undrafted free agent rookie or two manages to make enough of an impact in training camp to earn him a spot on the 53-man roster. Sometimes talent just gets overlooked or a risky acquisition pays off.

For the Cincinnati Bengals, the latter is the case when it comes to their must-watch undrafted free agent of this year's training camp.

Linebacker Vontaze Burfict was snagged by Cincinnati mere minutes after the draft ended, a low-risk, high-reward move that, if the stars align just right, could be one of the smartest moves a team has made this offseason.

Let's take a closer look at Burfict and his chances to make the active roster this year.

The Contender: LB Vontaze Burfict

If you just watched tape of Vontaze Burfict during his time at Arizona State and looked at his stats, you'd likely wonder why a player of his caliber went undrafted. However, it was his off-field incidents and on-field behavior that drew enough red flags to prevent any team from using a draft pick on him.

It didn't help that Burfict underwhelmed at both the scouting combine and his pro day and failed his combine drug test. Too risky to draft, the Bengals kept close contact with him and were able to take him as an undrafted free agent, mitigating some of that risk.

In his three college seasons, Burfict amassed 219 total tackles, seven sacks (five in 2011), three forced fumbles and an interception. He looked good at the Bengals' OTAs, showing mastery of the playbook and knowing quickly where to line up on every play. For a player with questions about his discipline swirling around him, this is a good sign for his future.

The Competition

In the long-term, Burfict's biggest competition is middle linebacker Rey Maualuga. Maualuga moved to the middle last season, taking over for the departed Dhani Jones, and has yet to really make the position his own. In contrast, the middle is just the perfect spot for Burfict, and with Maualuga in a contract year, he could take over the job in 2013.

However, that depends on a number of factors. One is that Burfict continues to look good in training camp—good enough to win a spot on the 53-man roster.

The second is whether Maualuga can make a leap this year in his development as a middle backer. With a full season at the position under his belt, he should be more comfortable and should see an uptick in production as a result.

Third, it would take the Bengals not wanting to continue to pay Maualuga, regardless of how well he plays this season.

While the last two conditions are out of Burfict's control, the first is practically his sole responsibility. In order to earn a roster spot, he'll have to beat out 2010 fourth-round pick Roddrick Muckelroy.

Muckelroy, who was hoped to be the team's ultimate future at middle linebacker, tore his Achilles' tendon in last year's training camp. As such, the Bengals don't entirely know what they have in him—in 2010, he only played on special teams. 

Other linebackers stand in Burfict's way as well: Vincent Rey, Dontay Moch and Micah Johnson. Between these five players there are just three open spots on the roster, so the competition is going to be fierce. With Muckelroy having special teams experience and Rey the longest-tenured veteran, Burfict will be scrambling for snaps and the opportunity to make a good impression.

As a pure middle linebacker, Muckelroy is Burfict's most direct competition, but as a linebacker, he'll have to fight it out with all of these men to get a coveted roster spot.

What He Needs to Do

Clearly, the biggest thing that Burfict must do to make the 53-man roster is to out-play Muckelroy. He'll likely have to also prove he has special teams coverage skills, as that will be a major part of his rookie campaign.

Burfict will also need to stay out of trouble. Though we've heard little negative press about Burfict since being picked up by the Bengals, training camp provides a heated environment in which tensions flare and old habits can resurface, simply because of the stress of the experience. 

Going undrafted likely humbled Burfict, and he's well aware of how much work he needs to do to ensure long-term success in such a fickle league. But he'll need to be careful not to put himself before his team or lose control of his temper; if it appears like he hasn't learned from his past mistakes, his time in the NFL will be quite short.

Burfict has to focus on what drew all of our attention in the first place—his vicious style of play. Speaking on talent alone, Burfict could have been a second- or even first-round draft pick this year, but his attitude soured that perception. If he can perform at a high level in camp without falling back on what got him in trouble in the first place, he could certainly earn himself a roster spot. 

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