We are just a month from the start of the 2021 NFL Draft in Cleveland, Ohio, from April 29 to May 1.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Mel Kiper released his updated NFL mock draft, and has the Las Vegas Raiders taking Kentucky linebacker Jamin Davis with 17th overall choice.
Here’s what Kiper had to say about the choice.
Know this name, because Davis is a great riser. When I sat down recently to watch your 2020 tape, I loved what I saw. It has a tremendous range. He’s physical. He can play inside or outside. He can cover and has some skills with the ball, including hitting three passes last season. Davis is the total package, and he can take the place of middle linebacker for Jon Gruden’s Raiders team. The other position to be monitored here is on the offensive line, with former holders Trent Brown, Gabe Jackson and Rodney Hudson everything being negotiated in the last 10 days.
As Kiper said, Davis made a dramatic climb on recruitment boards thanks to his 2020 SEC season. After being a reserve in his first two seasons, Davis emerged as a full-time starter last year and went on to receive honors from the first All-SEC team by Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus.
Here’s what Treash had to say in Davis’ day.
The defense running on this cat is nothing short of exceptional. Davis led all of the SEC’s off-ball linebackers in the race defense score with 89.0. His tackle was also arguably the best in the entire group, with just eight failures out of 104 attempts this season.
Davis ended the 2020 season in third place in the SEC in total tackles (102), despite losing a game due to an undisclosed problem. He also recorded four loss tackles, 1.5 sacks, three interceptions, a pick-six, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick.
When the off-season for Kentucky began, Davis was widely expected to return to his senior season. However, he went through the draft assessment process and got great comments from the project’s advisory board, which led him to take what, at the time, was considered a shocking decision to declare.
Davis clearly made the right choice, as many simulated sketches now show him going towards the end of Round 1 or the beginning of Round 2. However, Davis’ Kiper projection going to 17th place overall is easily the best projection that he has achieved so far.
What do you think of the Raiders possibly taking Jamin Davis to be the team’s future in the linebacker medium? Let us know below!
Oh, and be sure to check out Lance Zierlein’s Davis recognition report.