[Games reviewed: Kentucky, Alabama (the SEC Championship game, not the National Championship), Arkansas, Clemson]
Davis is the brass ring of the DT class. He tested off the charts for a guy of his size at the NFL Combine. I won’t bore you with the measurables – I’m sure you’ve seen them elsewhere – suffice it to say he’s fast and explosive…for a guy of his size.
Sorry about that, too early to get bitchy. I’ll start with the “nice” before getting back to the “naughty.”
The Tape
What the four-year starter did best in the middle of that fearsome Bulldog front was eat space. He alters game plans, forcing opponents to either stretch the edges or devote multiple guys (two-four) inside to moving him.
There are a number of benefits to having a guy who consistently commands double-teams:
- Allows LB’s to roam free behind him
- Creates favorable matchups for DE’s vs TE’s
- Limits the offense’s power running options (you can’t pull interior linemen when all three of them are blocking Jordan)
That explosiveness I alluded to earlier caught a lot of linemen off-guard (no pun intended). Most of his wins I saw started with a quick, lateral first step:
That last play is a good example of his speed-to-power game, which you don’t see a lot of from interior linemen. After establishing the speed threat he gets his match-up thinking “I gotta beat him to his spot or he’s going right around me.” Davis drops it back down to first gear and steamrolls right over his guy.
From speed, to speed-to-power, leads us to Davis’s power game. He can stand you and walk you back, he’s got a good swim/arm-over move and good arm length to boot (34″):
Two-gapping is a bit of a dying art in an NFL more and more predicated on speed, but take a look at these run stuffing reps. Davis stands his guy up and controls the block while keeping his eyes in the backfield. Once the RB declares a lane Davis disposes of his blocker effortlessly and fills that lane:
Remember earlier when I said he forces offenses to run around rather than through him? Well, turns out that doesn’t necessarily negate him:
Davis is an OSHA-certified “Load” but the rumors of his immortality have been greatly exaggerated. Here’s three clips of him being negated 1v1 by a Sophomore guard who’s just a couple sandwiches north of 300:
You’ve probably read that he has “heavy hands” which refers to his ability to negate his opponents’ hand-fighting, as well as his ability to land his own jabs despite his opponents’ efforts to negate his hand-fighting. I’d like to modify that (s/o to Andy Bernard): he plays with violent hands early in reps (see above), but his “turbo meter” drains fast and he’s prone to stalling out:
As I alluded to in the prior tweet, stamina/conditioning are a concern. Even when he was on the field there wasn’t a lot of the second- and third-effort playmaking that you’d like to see from a defender in 2022. Despite starting for four years, Davis only logged 64 career tackles in 40 games played. If you’re keeping track at home, that works out to barely 1.5 per game.
That wouldn’t necessarily be a deal-breaker for a team such as the Steelers who already have top-flight DL talent they’d like to keep fresher throughout games. Definitely a “buyer beware” situation, though.
The Take
Davis is a rare blend of power, speed and technique, and he’ll contribute immediately. The concern there is how MUCH he can contribute.
It’s easy to imagine the elevator pitch, especially for Steelers fans: “Casey Hampton, but fast…for a guy his size.” But would Casey Hampton be as effective in 2022 as he was in 2002? Even towards the end of Hampton’s playing career I remember people talking about how the nose tackle position was going the way of the hockey goon.
The modern game of football is all about mobility. Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar, Deshaun…all 11 of your defenders need to be athletes. I know, I know, he’s fast (for his size) but not so much compared to the guys named above. When you’re 340+ it’s hard for opponents to move you, but you know what else is hard when you’re 340+? Moving yourself.
Steely Cam 