Zack Baun is an ideal draft fit for the Kansas City Chiefs

Film Assessment

Oddly enough, the first thing that will pop off the screen when checking out Zack Baun’s tape will be his intelligence. His attention to detail, ability to diagnose plays, and understanding of where he is supposed to be on the field are all high-quality. When playing on the edge, he demonstrates that intelligence when flashing his hands forcing offensive tackles to react, adjusting his angles to the quarterback, and understanding which gaps to attack to either wreak havoc in the backfield or disrupt passing lanes.

As a pass rusher, Baun relies on speed, flexibility, and quickness to get to the quarterback. His first step explosiveness is good but not terrifying. He does an excellent job of setting up pass rush counters with angles against offensive tackles. His best pass rush move would be the cross chop, but he also flashes long-arm moves when converting speed to power, inside spins, swim, and rip/dip moves in 2019. His ability to quickly process the movements of offensive tackles and knowing when to counter is impressive.

Baun uses his quickness to set tackles up, forcing them to open their hips, and then counter inside frequently. When attacking the arc, Baun has flashed some bend around the edge to shorten angles to the quarterback, but it’s not consistent. There were plenty of occasions that he was pushed past the quarterback, unable to plant his foot firmly into the ground. Given his array of pass rush moves and counters along with his athleticism, Baun would be a great fit for Spagnuolo, who likes to implement stunts/twists.

When it comes to playing against the run, Baun’s size can limit his abilities. If he is caught before he can take an angle to create an advantage, he will likely get pushed off the line of scrimmage. He lacks the power the hold the edge and rarely can stack and shed his opponents. However, his ability to process quickly post-snap and his athleticism allow him to put linemen at a disadvantage playing angles to get to the ball carrier.

Baun relies on being smarter than the opponent and having sound technique. He’s someone who does all the little things right and maintains his assignment, which is something that Chiefs fans found frustration with this past season in their linebackers. When dealing with outside runs, the Wisconsin product has the range to get outside and make plays on the perimeter. Baun also showed tremendous effort and angles from the backside of run plays.

Even though Baun doesn’t have great length, he displayed a good tackle radius when extending his body fully. His angles give him an upper hand to gain position on ball carriers in the open field. Given his stout frame and hip flexibility, he brings power when taking a running back head-on.

Dropping in coverage, Baun was primarily asked to play shallow zone concepts. It was rare to see him play man coverage. His drops into his zones are excellent. He displays very nice balance and backpedal to then open and runs with a great change of direction. His intelligence from playing quarterback in high school shows in coverage with his understanding of passing concepts and ability to read the eyes of the quarterback. His short area quickness allows him to step into throwing lanes.