The Green Bay Packers have acquired another former first-round pick on defense. On Tuesday, Brian Gutekunst announced that the Packers had signed linebacker Jamin Davis, formerly the 19th-overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. Davis played in 50 games and started in 36 over four seasons. However, the Washington Commanders released him earlier this year. He will immediately join Green Bay’s practice squad.
Davis didn’t start his career with the ideal circumstances to develop. He was an uber-athletic player with a 9.94 Relative Athletic Score coming out of Kentucky, who experts viewed as moldable. However, his time in Washington was fairly tumultuous. Nicki Jhabvala covered Davis’ timeline well in the Washington Post. In short, Davis’s defensive coordinator criticized him in 2022, and he had injury problems last year. Davis also had been charged with reckless driving in 2023.
Then, we turn to this season. The Commanders hired a new front office led by GM Adam Peters and a coaching staff led by defensive-minded head coach Dan Quinn. In the offseason, Washington asked Davis to transition from off-ball linebacker to edge to help give the Commanders depth.
“We’re trying to really push him specifically on the versatility,” Quinn said, “We’re adding parts to his game that maybe we didn’t use and we’re certainly trying to explore that.”
Ultimately, it looks like the new regime had less investment and belief in Davis. They tried to find ways to make him fit on the roster, but they weren’t consistent in what they asked of him.
Regardless of his circumstances in Washington, Davis has another opportunity with the Packers to show he can play at this level.
Davis fits the Packers’ “type” when it comes to linebackers. In the offseason, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley expounded his view on linebackers.
“The days of playing a 255 lb. linebacker, I’m not sure there’s many of them left,” Hafley emphasized. “You got to be able to run. You have to be able to shrink the field.”
Davis fits the bill with his 6’ 3”, 234 lb. build and his 4.41-second 40-yard-dash time coming out of college.
Davis’ biggest strength is his tackling and ability to defend the run. Last year, he had only a 5.6% missed tackle rate. For context, this year, Quay Walker has the lowest missed tackle rate by Packers linebackers, with 10.3%. You see this show up on film for Davis. When he knows it’s a run play, he enters “see ball, get ball” mode and attacks.
Here’s one fun play on a Russell Wilson quarterback rollout in 2023:
Once Wilson is going to take it and run, Davis has the closing speed to beat him to the sideline, even after an initial hesitation, and get the forced fumble.
Davis also does a solid job of defending interior run plays. Below is a play where he shows his ability to shed blockers in a phone booth and get a tackle before the running back can break through the hole.
Davis’s biggest weakness is his coverage ability. In over 1,000 career coverage snaps, Davis has struggled, giving up a 107.2 passer rating. Based on the film, it looks like Davis occasionally hesitates or is simply matched up on players who would give any linebacker trouble in coverage.
Here’s a play where he covers Saquon Barkley on a wheel route:
You can see that Davis hesitates or just isn’t fluid enough in his transition, and Barkley instantly creates separation for an easy touchdown.
Overall, I like Davis’s addition to the practice squad. The Packers will likely give him a week or two to acclimate. Then, I would anticipate he gets a possible elevation to help on special teams or provide linebacker depth in the event of an injury.
It’s also a pretty low-risk move. Davis is not on any kind of exorbitant contract, and he’ll be a free agent again at the end of the year. At the very least, Green Bay is a great landing spot for him to get good reps on film with a likely playoff team. The Packers get linebacker depth and someone with NFL experience and the physical tools to succeed.
