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ZACH BAUN
HEIGHT/WEIGHT/AGE
6-foot-2
240 pounds
23 years old
BIG PICTURE
A former high school quarterback, Zack Baun was a late bloomer as a defensive player at Wisconsin. But when he finally blossomed, Baun was a mature athlete ready to move his career forward into the next level. It took Baun until his fourth season with the Badgers to make an impact after redshirting in Year 1 and missing his sophomore season with an injury. As a senior he racked up 12.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception. Baun may thrive in an outside backer role as long as he hones his coverage skills.
COMBINE NOTABLES
4.65 40-yard dash
24 bench reps (3rd)
32.5-inch vertical
115-inch broad jump (T-4th worst)
7.0 3-cone drill (T-5th worst)
4.31 20-yard shuttle
VIKINGS COMPATIBILITY RANKING
2 out of 5. With Baun being too small to play defensive end, the Vikings aren't in desperate enough need to use a Day 2 pick on a linebacker.
HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT DRAFT EXPERTS SAY
Lance Zierlein, NFL.com: "Ascending prospect whose explosive production on the field has begun to mirror his explosive athletic traits. Baun's twitchy get-off and deep bend at the edge is nightmare fuel for Big Ten tackles and he's still at the early stages of pass rush development. He is aggressive to flow downhill in run support, has sideline-to-sideline range and is fluid dropping into coverage. He's strong but a little light as an edge-setter so teams will need to figure out how best to align him. Baun is a scheme-diverse linebacker with high-impact potential whose best days are ahead of him."
Kyle Crabbs, Draft Network: "Zack Baun will excel in a defensive system that capitalizes on his versatility and football IQ to place him in various roles in the defensive front seven. Baun has the quickness, burst and hand usage to win as a pressure player but early downs will serve him best working off the football to take advantage of his quick processor and short area quickness to step into gaps and fill versus the run. He can be a critical starter for a defense but needs to be moved around to play his best football."
WHAT PFF SAYS
112 yards allowed in coverage last two years combined
16.5% pressure rate since 2018 (6th)
91.0 pass-rush grade last year
CHECK OUT THE REST OF THE ZONE COVERAGE DRAFT GUIDE:
EXPLORING VIKINGS DRAFT TRENDS
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