Draft Prospect Profile | LB Joe Bachie, Michigan State

Could Joe Bachie deliver some depth at the linebacker spot?

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Joe Bachie

Height: 6-foot 2
Weight: 233 lbs
Grade: Senior
School: Michigan State

Joe Bachie didn't end his career at East Lansing the way he hoped. After testing positive for performance-enhancing substances in November, the NCAA cut Bachie's college career short by suspending him for the final five games of the 2019 season.

Bachie's tenure as a team captain, the Spartans' highest-graded player according to Pro Football Focus and a surging NFL prospect, was over, all because of some pre-workout.

“It was a pre-workout, over-the-counter,” Bachie said at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. “It was just tainted a little bit. You can never really trust what’s in those over-the-counter things.

I took it one time for just an extra lift on a Tuesday, tested six days later. I failed. I thought I was going to be perfectly clean. I had taken this product in the past when it was certified, and I had passed five-to-six NCAA, Big Ten drug tests. It was heartbreaking. .”

Now Bachie turns to the pros for redemption. It won't be as easy as it previously seemed for the talented linebacker, as the suspension has tarnished Bachie's once-clean record.

It's a circumstance that could affect Bachie's draft stock, but his talent and toughness will all-but ensure that he makes it into the NFL in April, even if it means getting in as a third-day pick.

Halfway through the 2019 season, Bachie was named second-team midseason All-American by The Associated Press, The Athletic, and Athlon Sports. He was also closing in on his third-straight season of cracking the 100-tackle mark.

As one of the Big Ten's most relentless tacklers, Bachie specialized in stuffing the run. He displayed elite stopping power as a downhill tackler at Michigan State and earned a first-team All-Big Ten selection as a junior in 2018.

As a captain, Bachie possessed the endurance, the emotion, and mental quickness to anchor and led the Spartans defense. Bachie was the key communicator on the backend and was tasked with recognizing offense formations and getting his defense lined up accordingly.

However, Bachie struggled in pass coverage, mainly when covering speedy tailbacks on routes out of the backfield. 

Why He's A Fit

Bachie will bring athleticism, grittiness, and pure aggression to whichever team drafts him. It's a collection of traits that Giants head coach Joe Judge expressed a desire for in his introductory press conference on January 9. 

"What I'm about is, is an old-school physical mentality," Judge said. "We will play fast, we will play downhill, we will play aggressive. We will punch you in the nose for 60 minutes, and we will play every play like it has a history in the life of its own, with a relentless competitive attitude."

Bachie fits the prototypical mold of a physical mike linebacker, one that reflects Judge's old-school sentiment. Bachie's strengths as a player were mainly his ability to punch an offense in the nose by charging downhill to plug up rushing lanes.

Bachie's aggression and speed also never faded late in games, as he consistently played a full four quarters at 100%. For a Giants defense that has faltered late in games over the past three years, Bachie would bring four-quarter energy needed for a defense to close out wins. 

The Giants' inside linebacking core is rising position group after the signing of former Packer Blake Martinez. In last year's draft, general manager Dave Gettleman found some promise at the position on the third day of the draft, with former Wisconsin linebacker Ryan Connely, one of Bachie's former Big Ten opponents.

If Gettleman were to bring in Bachie to round out that group, it would give the Giants three middle linebackers that specialize in physical, aggressive run-stuffing. 

The depth at that position could prove to be the heart of the team's run defense and would pair well with Gettleman's four run-stuffing "hog molly" defensive linemen in Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence, B.J. Hill, and Dalvin Tomlinson. 

Bachie could be the last piece needed for the defense to become one of the league's best at stopping the run and upholding Judge's old-school physical mantra.