How Much Will a Full Off-season Make for Jarrad Davis?

Can Jarrad Davis be the answer for the New York Giants in 2023?

Author:
Brandon Olsen
Publish date:
May 28, 2023 4:00 PM EDT

In this story:

Jarrad Davis, Inside Linebacker

Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 238 pounds
2022 Stats: 14 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, .5 sacks, 1 pass deflection

Jarrad Davis, a six-year NFL veteran, spent most of the 2022 season on the Detroit Lions practice squad. Toward the end of the season, the Giants took a swing on Davis, signing him on December 28, 2022.

Davis would pick up 11 of his 14 tackles in one regular season game (Week 18 at Philadelphia), which was good enough to earn him starts in both of the team's playoff games.

When Davis came out of Florida in 2017, his skillset was that of an off-ball linebacker who plays with intensity, aggression, and a lethal first step when used as a blitzer.

Fast-forward to last season, and he’s still that same player, just older and slightly better than he was in coverage when he was younger.

Now that he’s entering his first offseason with the Giants and his first full season with the team, it will be easier to evaluate what he can bring to the table. The Giants not addressing linebacker in the draft should allow Davis to show his worth.

Best Case Scenario

How quickly Davis went from “just signed” to “starter” in just 12 days wasn't talked about enough. Part of that was due to the Giants' lack of production at the position, and part was because they legitimately liked what Davis brought to the table.

While the film from him isn’t great in the games he did play for the Giants, he had almost no familiarity with the defensive system, and yet he played fairly well given the expectations.

Davis’ play style was always one that would fit perfectly with a coordinator like Wink Martindale, who allowed him to work downhill more than anything else to hide his coverage flaws.

If Davis can reach his old starter-quality level of play from 2019 before his ankle injuries, then this could be one of the biggest practice squad steals we’ve seen in years.

Worst Case Scenario

The worst-case scenario is that Davis doesn’t have it in him anymore to bring a starter-quality level of play to the field in 2023. He exceeded expectations after being signed, but make no mistake; he was still a replacement-level player in the linebacker room.

As much as I’d like to be optimistic and chalk that up to not knowing the system, maybe that’s just the quality of player that Davis is now. If that's the case, there isn’t much reason to keep him around outside of a mentor role to the younger linebackers.

What to Expect in 2023

As someone who’s been a fan of his since he was a freshman in 2013, Davis never really lived up to his first-round draft status. If the expectation is for him to turn it all around, that seems overly optimistic.

Realistically, Davis is likely a below-average starting linebacker but is a good rotational player that can provide depth and a veteran presence for younger players like Micah McFadden, Darrian Beavers, Cam Brown, and Carter Coughlin.