Background:
Grandfather is Hall of Fame defensive end Willie Davis. Five-star recruit who redshirted, then started the final two games of the following season. Took over as a starter in 2019 and reprised that role this past season.
Positives:
Very thickly-built offensive guard who carries his weight well. Plays the game with nastiness, attempting to dominate opponents. Phone-booth mauler who can win on initial contact and showcases good leg drive and impressive functional strength to drive defenders off the spot and finish. Has lots of power in his hands and the upper-body strength to generate torque and twist opponents to the ground. Works hard through the whistle, and when asked to get out in space and engage; has some ability to reach linebackers when working in a straight line. Can pull a little bit and crack opponents at the line of scrimmage. Keeps his head on a swivel in pass protection, with a very powerful shove to jolt or pancake opposing defensive linemen when helping. Bends at the knees and plays with a solid base to anchor against power; can absorb bull-rushers with ease. Accurate with his hand placement and is capable of resetting and staying engaged against technicians.
Negatives:
Was asked to do some blocking on angles and get out in front of some screens, but range is limited overall by a lack of ideal athleticism, even in a short area. Lacks lateral quickness to recover when caught out of position, a problem which is magnified by what looks like some occasional issues identifying assignments on pasing downs. Has an occasional tendency to lower his head into contact. Will engage with his body instead of his arms at times. Handles power approaches better than gap-shooters because of average to below-average lateral quickness; often has to settle for trying to shove opponents deep instead of mirroring. Might be viewed as more of an inline-only option by teams.
Summary:
Put this guy in a phone booth and let him maul opponents: he’s a very thickly-built, very powerful, and very nasty inline road-grader who can dominate in the run game and stonewall opposing rushers on passing downs as long as he doesn’t have to cover too much ground to work his way into position. Has the look of a potential starter who brings the right attitude to the position and can bully the undersized defensive linemen who the pro game is increasingly being built around.
DRAFTEXAMINER 