Ivan Pace Jr.’s hamstring injury has landed him on injured reserve. Pace is a unique and important piece of the defense who boasts a skill set that will be difficult to replace. Kwesi Adofo-Mensa acted quickly by poaching former first-round pick Jamin Davis off the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad.
Selected by the Washington Commanders with the 19th-overall pick in 2021, the Kentucky alum has yet to find his footing in the NFL. At 6’3”, 234 lbs., he was drafted as a high-ceiling athletic specimen with relatively limited experience and average college production. Washington didn’t successfully guide him to that ceiling in his first three seasons, and they eventually waived him on October 22 this season.
If the Vikings thrust Davis into action throughout Pace’s injured reserve stint, what will he bring to Brian Flores’ defense?
Coming out of college, Davis was billed as a rangy off-ball linebacker in the Devin White mold, who was coming off of a huge performance in the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As such, he got plenty of opportunities at off-ball linebacker in his first three seasons with Washington.
The Commanders used him as an A- and B-gap blitzer and matched him with tight ends and running backs in pass coverage. The results weren’t poor, but they were certainly below expectations, given his draft position. He wasn’t terribly effective in pass coverage despite being a pretty strong run defender and effective pass-rusher.
When the regime changed in Washington, and Dan Quinn took over as head coach and defensive play-caller, he had a different role in mind for Davis. Quinn used him as a rotational edge rusher. The new head coach may have thought of him as having a similar skill set to Micah Parsons, who spearheaded Quinn’s excellent defenses in Dallas.
From 2021 to 2023, Davis spent only 8.3% of his snaps as an edge defender. In five games under Quinn in 2024, Davis lined up on the edge for 83 of his 86 snaps, twice inside the tackle, and took just one snap as an off-ball linebacker. He logged just one pressure in those five games, and it was clear he was not ready to be a full-time edge rusher.
The Vikings are replacing a true off-ball linebacker with this move. So, where will Davis contribute in this defense?
Early on, I expect most of Davis’ reps to come along the edge. There is too much for him to get up to speed on at the second level for him to be viable in the defense without any time in the system. His strength as a run defender from many different alignments may earn him some snaps on early downs.
While he may not be the most cerebral player, he’s extremely instinctive and athletic. An archetype of player that Flores has proven able to utilize. An example off the top of my head would be, I don’t know, Ivan Pace Jr.?
While I expect to see plenty of Josh Metellus in the box this Sunday, given his understanding of the system, Davis may slowly eat into Kamu Grugier-Hill’s snaps at linebacker. He could also align at edge in some of Flores’ five- or six-man fronts, with Cashman as the lone linebacker by alignment.
Expectations for a first-round cast-off should be tempered, but Davis has many widely applicable skills that Flores can find a place for. His athleticism hasn’t waned. Davis plays with a high motor and still has plenty to learn as he searches for his true role in the NFL.
There are reasons he was selected as high as he was, and he’s arrived in the perfect system with a play-caller who can highlight his strengths and mitigate his weaknesses. The front office is not resting on its laurels at 9-2, knowing it needs to find a way to replace a starting linebacker in the aggregate. If Davis is deployed properly, he will be an asset to this team.
