Zach Cunningham. He was a good weakside linebacker who chased and tackled on an elite front seven. His hands are were bright and clean and beautiful, while Benardrick McKinney’s and D.J. Reader’s hands were bruised, broken, and gnarled. Bill O’Brien didn’t understand this. He extended Cunningham to anchor the front seven, something he had never shown the propensity to do before. Cunningham was handed a four-year $58 million contract with $23.5 million guaranteed.
Immediately he was thrown into the fire. Cunningham replaced Benardrick McKinney at Mike linebacker when he went down, and without Reader in front of him, he was forced to overcome those around him, instead of feast on those that fed him.