Washington drafts Jamin Davis in Round 1
April 29, 2021
by Steve Thomas
Washington drafted Kentucky linebacker Jamin Davis with the 19th pick in round one of the 2021 NFL draft. Davis, who went to high school in Ludowici, Georgia, stands 6’4” and weighs 234 pounds. He spent 4 years at Kentucky, redshirting his freshman year, and played 36 games between 2018 and 2020, with a total of 144 tackles, including 66 solo and 5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and 5 interceptions. In 2020, Davis played 10 games and made 102 tackles, including 48 solo and 4 for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 3 interceptions.
Davis had an extremely impressive pro day, running the 40 yard dash in unofficial times of 4.41 and 4.37 seconds, and jumping 42” in the vertical leap and 11’0” in the standing broad jump, which are all “off the charts” level measurements for a linebacker. His obvious strengths are his combination of size and athleticism, which made him a frequent impact player in college. Davis is known to have quality coverage and ball skills, and scouts project him to be best as a weakside linebacker in a 4 – 3 system. His principal weakness is a lack of collegiate playing time and experience – Davis did not start until his senior year and was not a major name in pre-draft talk until his pro day.
Davis joins a Washington linebacker group that includes 2020 starting middle linebacker Jonathan Bostic, 2019 fifth round draft pick and strong-side starter Cole Holcomb, veteran David Mayo, 2020 rookie Khaleke Hudson, 2017 seventh round pick Josh Harvey-Clemons, Jordan Kunasyk, Jared Norris, and Justin Phillips. Davis instantly becomes the team’s most athletic linebacker and, if his pro day 40 times are to be believed, one of the team’s fastest defenders. Washington’s obvious need is on the weakside, which plays directly into his strengths as a coverage linebacker. Given the team’s complete lack of weakside candidates, it seems likely that Davis will be a day one starter and could be the answer to the team’s long-standing problems with opposing tight ends. He was projected by most to be a late first round pick, so many self-anointed “draft experts” may consider him to have been selected a bit early, but that aside, Davis fills the team’s single biggest need and adds another dose of much needed athleticism to the defense.
Washington’s next pick is pick 19 in round 2, which is 51st overall.