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Less than an hour later, the former Michigan State linebacker was announcing his next move. Bachie was taking his game to the New Orleans Saints, and he was bringing a new chip on his shoulder with him.

During a short interview with local media, Bachie didn’t explicitly say he thought he’d be drafted, but the disappointment was still present in his voice.

He’d enjoyed an excellent career at Michigan State, earning some form of All Big Ten honors each year of his career as he recorded 273 tackles, 25½ tackles for loss, eight sacks and five interceptions in 34 games as a starter.

Bachie didn’t know why he fell out of the draft entirely. It might have been the suspension that cost him the last five games of his senior year after testing positive for a banned substance, something he said he explained to teams at the combine. He’d also heard rumblings that he wasn’t a good enough athlete.



“I’m excited to get out there and show everyone there was a reason I was a two-time captain, there was a reason I was a mid-season All-American my senior year before all this happened. I’m a good football player. Teams passed up on me, but the Saints organization is going to get somebody who is going to come in and work his tail off every day.”

New Orleans had been keeping tabs on Bachie. He was originally supposed to go through a private workout with the Saints after his pro day, but the coronavirus scrapped those plans.

During the draft, Saints linebackers coach Michael Hodges reached out, and Bachie said that’s where his process started with New Orleans. Bachie and his agent began to look at all the factors and a picture started to form with the Saints being the ideal scenario.

New Orleans was not the only team on his heels. Bachie may not have been drafted, but he did have his choice of suitors after the draft ended. He narrowed it down to his top three teams — the Saints, the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Rams.

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