MADISON, Wis. – Zack Baun entered the University of Wisconsin as a dual-threat quarterback looking to make the transition to outside linebacker. Five years later, he's a second-day pick in the NFL Draft
Ranking second in Big Ten with 19.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks last season, Baun was selected No. 74 overall by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of Friday's annual NFL Draft.
Baun is the eighth former Wisconsin linebacker selected in the NFL Draft since 2016, joining Vince Biegel, Jack Cichy, Ryan Connelly, Leon Jacobs, Joe Schobert, Andrew Van Ginkel and T.J. Watt.
Only one true outside linebacker was selected in the first round when the Jacksonville Jaguars selected former LSU sophomore K'Lavon Chaisson with the 20th pick, while Clemson junior defensive end/OLB Isaiah Simmons was taken eighth by the Arizona Cardinals. Three inside linebackers were also taken.
No outside linebackers were taken in the second round and Notre Dame's Julian Okwara was the third pick of the third round.
Baun - who appeared in some first-round mock drafts - is an enigma because teams appear concerned with how he'll fit into their schemes. He also has been labeled at not having the right size to be an every-down outside linebacker.
Finishing third among linebackers in the bench press (24 reps) and fifth in the 3-cone drill (7.0 seconds) at the NFL Scouting Combine, in addition to running a 4.65 40-yard dash, Baun only ran the 20-yard shuttle for scouts at UW’s Pro Day in March. After running a 4.31 in Indianapolis, he ran a 4.08 in the McClain Center and has done work at inside linebacker throughout the pre-draft process.
“I had a good Combine,” Baun said. “My position drills, especially, were very good, and I know that teams really wanted to see me move in space and my hips.”
Adding 10 quarterback hurries and 76 total tackles last season, Baun was a Butkus Award finalist and a consensus first-team All-American, the first linebacker in Wisconsin school history to earn that distinction.
Baun’s BadgerBlitz Draft Profile
Strengths: Baun burst onto the scene in 2019 after a tremendous offseason that helped refine a lot of his techniques. One standout of his skills is his motor and his ability to explode off the snap. Running a 4.08 in the 20-yard shuttle at UW’s Pro Day, Baun possesses a strong lower body which helps produce a good burst to get up the field and makes up for him lacking top-end speed. His TFL numbers show his ability to create chaos in the backfield with a variety of techniques (spin, speed, rip, swim, etc.) to aid him in outside run support. It’s impressive how polished his technique is considering his relative newness to the position.
Baun is aggressive when he moves downhill in run support, has sideline-to-sideline range, moves well to win first contact and drops fluidly into coverage. His flexibility and his bend are two of his better traits, as his 7.00 three-cone drill at the NFL Scouting Combine (fifth among tested linebackers) demonstrated. His use of his hands serves him well, allowing him to win first contact and shed blockers to get into the backfield without slowing his speed rush.
He’s a good tackler for his 6-2 size in large part because he takes the right angles and slashes toward the ball carrier. Baun has a good drive when he’s flat footed and needs to change directions, giving him good balance and lateral movement. In a posted online interview with the Dallas Cowboys, Baun said that if someone were to give him a compliment as a football player, it would be that his motor is unlike any other. Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said that was a good answer.
There’s a passion to Baun’s game and a high football intelligence. As a former dual-threat high school quarterback, Baun has the knowledge and ability to diagnose plays pre-snap and be assignment/gap sound, putting him in the proper positions to chase down runners or throwers and cover tight ends or running backs in pass coverage. Per Pro Football Focus, he was the only draft-eligible edge rusher with over 100 coverage snaps and was the highest-graded edge rusher in coverage.
Weaknesses: While he has solid size for a traditional linebacker, one big knock on Baun is that he doesn’t have great size for a full-time edge rusher, and that his power moves that worked so well on college linemen could get stalled against the bigger brut strength at the NFL level. Not the longest linebacker either, Baun could struggle with those big offensive tackles in both the run and the pass if his athleticism doesn’t carry him through.
Like any defensive player, Baun must improve his tackling at the next level by limiting arm tackles and perfecting his form. His shorter height shouldn’t hurt him in that regard, but it will take him time to be an impact player when lined up on the line of scrimmage. Baun’s game also appears tailored to a 3-4 scheme and not a 4-3, so the “fit” into a defensive scheme will be vitally important. Baun is better when he can play with versatility and not when he’s lined up as a 4-3 defensive end or an every-down cover.
