Akeem Davis-Gaither
Indianapolis ColtsModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 17 games
Draft & College
He went about where consensus had him.
Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.
Comps
STM Take
Super Bowl LVI appearance plus 2022 tier 3 (#18) STTM peak puts Davis-Gaither in the rare championship-pedigree LB class with structural top-25 ceiling at peak. The Appalachian State 4th-round origin plus six years of NFL development give him real veteran market value. The 2026 question is whether Davis-Gaither holds tier 7 or better with Arizona or whether the structural late-prime decline closes the chapter.
Davis-Gaither came out of Appalachian State as the Cincinnati Bengals' 4th-round pick (107th overall) in 2020 and played in Super Bowl LVI for the Bengals. He spent five years in Cincinnati before signing with the Arizona Cardinals in 2025. His STTM career runs tier 6 (#47) rookie, tier 6 (#41) in 2021, tier 3 (#18) peak in 2022, tier 7 (#52) in 2024, and tier 8 (#63) in 2025.
Strengths
- Super Bowl LVI appearance plus 2022 tier 3 (#18) STTM peak as a 107th overall pick puts him in the outlier-positive championship class.
- Six years of NFL survival as an Appalachian State 4th-round pick gives him real journeyman veteran market value.
Concerns
- Career STTM decline from tier 3 (#18) in 2022 to tier 8 (#63) in 2025 confirms the structural late-prime decline.
- Arizona's broader defensive identity around the multi-year rebuild compresses the structural support around Davis-Gaither.
What to watch: Whether Davis-Gaither holds tier 7 or better in 2026 with Arizona or whether the role compresses to swing depth.