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Zach Cunningham Receiving Late First-, Early Second-Round Grades

Updated Oct. 20, 2016
By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.



In the first half of the 2016 season, there have been some highly hyped linebackers, such as Florida's Jarrad Davis, Alabama's Reuben Foster, Ohio State's Raekwon McMillan, and Clemson's Ben Boulware. While some of them figure to be early-round picks, don't be surprised if Vanderbilt's Zach Cunningham ends up going ahead of some and perhaps all of them. Sources say the Commodore inside linebackeris grading out as a late first-, early second-round pick with some NFL teams. 

Teams were assigning that grade to Cunninghame even before last Saturday when he dominated Georgia to lead Vanderbilt to a shocking road victory. He had 19 tackles in that game, including a late fourth-quarter pass break-up on a third down and a stop for no gain on a fourth-and-1 to clinch the win for the Commodores. Currently, Cunningham is third in the nation with 81 tackles. He also has 13 for a loss, one pass batted and one forced fumble in 2016.

Scouts say they really love the skill set on the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder. He has length and strength. Teams are really impressed with his ability to take on and shed blocks. In the ground game, Cunningham is a fast and physical linebacker who is adept at reading his keys to get in position to make stops. Cunningham has shown good instincts with the speed and athleticism to play in pass coverage. Some sources compared Cunningham to the Texans' Bernardrick McKinney, who is playing very well early in his second year after being a high second-rounder in the 2015 NFL Draft. They felt that they were similar players, but Cunningham could be faster and more athletic.

As McKinney found out, it can be hard for inside linebackers to get drafted in the first round even if they grade out there. However, if Cunningham maintains his level of play and has a strong lead-up to the draft, he has a shot at being a Thursday night selection, as there are teams that feel he is worthy of a late first-round or early second-round pick.






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