DraftTracker
Round | Team | Pos. | School | Name
Thomas Davis
DB (6-1, 230, 4.6)
Georgia
Grade: 91
Comments
At his best in run support. A big hitter with excellent size, toughness, aggressiveness, power and tackling skills. Can match up in the box. Shows the ability to shed blocks on a consistent basis and he also take great angles to the ball carrier. Has excellent range in run support, fills hard and is not afraid to throw his body around. Shows great hip explosion for a safety and packs a punch as a tackler. Also is an impressive open field tackler. Has the speed and athletic ability to stick with most RB's and TE's one-on-one and he has enough physical tools to at least provide adequate range in zone coverage. He is instinctive in run support and as a blitzer. Reads and reacts quickly versus the run and does an excellent job of finding the football. Is always around the ball in run support. He has excellent burst and instincts as a blitzer, and does a consistent job of finding gaps to shoot through. Has a great motor and flies around the field from sideline-to-sideline. Lacks ideal speed at DS. He doesn't have elite hip fluidity and will struggle in most matchups against slot receivers. He can be overzealous versus the play-fake and frequently will take false steps. He doesn't have nearly the feel for coverage that he has for run support. He needs to be more disciplined and to learn how to read opposing QB's eyes better. Until his recognition skills improve in coverage, he will remain a liability in coverage at the DS position. Has marginal ball skills for a safety and below average ball skills for an OLB. Doesn't show the consistent ability to adjust to the ball in the air. Miss-times his leaps on occasion. His hands are inconsistent and he has dropped a few potential interceptions. Also has a bad tendency to go for the body at times that he should be making a play on the ball. Davis redshirted in 2001 and started four games at safety as a redshirt freshman in 2002 before taking over as a fulltime starting OLB for the Bulldogs as a sophomore in 2003. He had a breakout season in 2003 with 138 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and one interception. As a senior in 2004, Davis was moved back to the DS position and earned 1st team All-American and 1st team All-SEC. He missed one game (Kentucky) due to injury in 2004 but still led the Bulldogs with 81 total tackles and finished with five TFL, three sacks and one INT. Davis is a 'tweener DS/OLB prospect that could play either position in the NFL. The way it looks now, after showing up at the combine at 230 pounds and running the 40-yard dash in the high 4.6's, Davis is headed the OLB route. Much of that, however, will have to do with the scheme preference of the team that drafts him. If he is drafted by a team favoring athleticism over size, Davis is likely to make the move to OLB. If he's drafted by a team that relies on size and strength up front, Davis would fit much better as an "in the box" SS type. Either way, Davis is much more effective close to the line of scrimmage than playing 10-of-15 yards deep. He also is much more proficient at supporting the run than he is in coverage. He is one of the most explosive and productive run-supporting safeties to enter the draft in the last several years. But while he ranks up there with Roy Williams (Cowboys) in that category, he's not nearly as consistent or versatile as Williams is in coverage. As a result, Davis is still the top safety prospect in this class and should come off the board in the mid-to-late area of the first round, but he's not a complete enough player to spend a top-15 selection on.
* Player biographies are provided by Scouts Inc.
