Markus Bailey NFL Draft 2020: Scouting Report for Cincinnati Bengals' Pick

LB Markus Bailey, Purdue

STRENGTHS

—Made 40 consecutive starts and was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten.

—Top-notch awareness and recognition; routinely able to key and diagnose quickly post-snap.

—Triggers downhill without hesitation and brings every bit of his size into contact. 

—Comfortable in low-area zone coverage with the ability to bounce in and out of phase with multiple underneath routes

—Block-avoidance skills are better than block destruction and allow him to scrape windows closed versus off-tackle runs.

Markus Bailey Highlights

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WEAKNESSES

—Suffered two season-ending knee injuries during his time at Purdue and underwent offseason hip surgery prior to his senior season.

—Underwhelmed with 15 bench-press reps at the combine (fourth-fewest among linebackers), which confirmed a lack of upper-body play strength.

—Has undersized frame (6'0", 235 lbs) and arm length (31½"), which is less than ideal for man-coverage expectations in the NFL.

—Explosiveness in all planes looks limited; will leave him trailing quick-twitch athletes to the boundary.

—Slow power in his hands to stack out; doesn't affect like it needs to given his lack of length.

—Lack of mobility throughout his lower half, perhaps because of injuries, which will limit his ability to open and run laterally versus NFL speed.

OVERALL

When healthy, Bailey's ability to diagnose and trigger makes him more than worthy of an NFL roster spot. Unfortunately, the Purdue product had two season-ending knee injuries and an offseason hip injury. Bailey has to be correct as a processor because of his athletic limitations, but there's no doubt that the three-year starter and bright Boilermaker can compete in the NFL.

GRADE: 64

PRO COMPARISON: Vince Williams/Zach Cunningham