Ashtyn

Davis

The Jets are dealing with a plethora of injury issues, and also placed Allen Lazard and Leki Fotu on injured reserve earlier Thursday. With Mosley out, Chazz Surratt should see the bulk of snaps at his linebacker position with Surratt playing through a heel injury.

Backup safety Ashtyn Davis is out with a concussion. The Jets are severely banged up on defense heading into a do-or-die matchup with the Texans. A loss will send their already dwindling playoff hopes down the drain. Adams has five pass breakups, two TFLs, and one sack this year.

In addition to Fotu, DBs Tony Adams (hamstring) and Ashtyn Davis (concussion) did not practice on Tuesday. The non-participation is a troubling sign that all three defenders will be inactive on a short week against the Texans for Thursday Night Football Week 9.

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Davis “had interest from a few teams” after he turned in the best year of his pro career last season. The veteran safety posted a career-high three interceptions in 17 games and also recovered three fumbles. Davis played on only 218 defensive snaps despite appearing in 17 games, but could be in line for a bigger role after last year’s performance.

The No. 68 overall pick of April’s draft has been starting for the past six weeks. The Jets have become laughably thin in their secondary down the stretch of their 0-12 campaign. Davis, who is ineligible to return before Week 17 and probably won’t play again this season, has not shown particularly well and will not be guaranteed a starting job next summer. Already 24 years old, Davis is primarily known as a ballhawk.

Davis (6’1/202) was a walk-on and three-year Cal starter at free safety who earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors as a redshirt senior. After overcoming childhood hardships, he went to Cal to run track and earn a scholarship in football, which happened after being named the Golden Bears’ special teams MVP in back-to-back seasons. His athleticism popped on special teams and as a single-high safety. He has ball-hawking traits but needs to make reads quicker to finish plays, as he only made 55 tackles and picked off two passes in 2019. Davis, who is an older 23-year-old prospect, has to get medical clearance after being flagged at the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine, but his athleticism and competitiveness give him quality NFL starter potential as a traditional safety if his body holds up. Of course, the Jets have one of the best safety duos in the league already with Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye.

Davis (6’1/202) was a walk-on and three-year Cal starter at free safety who earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors as a redshirt senior. After overcoming childhood hardships, he went to Cal to run track and earn a scholarship in football, which happened after being named the Golden Bears’ special teams MVP in back-to-back seasons. His athleticism popped on special teams and as a single-high safety. He has ball-hawking traits but needs to make reads quicker to finish plays, as he only made 55 tackles and picked off two passes in 2019. Davis, who is an older 23-year-old prospect, has to get medical clearance after being flagged at the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine, but his athleticism and competitiveness give him quality NFL starter potential as a traditional safety if his body holds up. Of course, the Jets have one of the best safety duos in the league already with Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye.

"[Davis] can cover a lot of ground on the back end with speed that enabled him to compete on the Cal track team,” Prisco writes of the 6-foot-1, 200-pound safety. While the analyst is intrigued by what Davis offers in terms of upside, he does bring up two notes of caution to watch out for, here. Prisco notes that Davis can be overeager to lay the big hit -- sacrificing fundamentals and discipline in the process -- and that his health could be worth monitoring. He underwent core muscle surgery in December and was unable to take part in February’s combine. The expectation is that Davis will be good to go for the start of the season with his future NFL team, assuming no setbacks.

Davis is considered by some analysts to be the top safety in the class, but there has also been talk that the 6-foot-1, 200-pound defender could be moved to cornerback. Eager notes that his projected completion percentage is one of the best in the class, and he’s up there among playmaker rate (rate of interceptions and pass breakups per primary coverage snap), as well. The analyst does point out that Davis doesn’t project as a terrific run-defender, so it’s unlikely he’s playing inside the box at the highest level. Still, his coverage skills win out, and as Eager summarizes: " With superstars the caliber of Earl Thomas, Justin Simmons, Tyrann Mathieu (sic) and Anthony Harris in his comps, the team that gets Davis will have one of the most important aspects of secondary play at the great value implied by the rookie deal.

Davis (6'1/200), who will not run at the NFL Scouting Combine as he continues to recover from offseason surgery, has elite speed. A conference champion and national medalist in the hurdles, he managed to translate to the football field with his big play ability. While a safety at Cal, Davis could be a player that teams consider moving to corner. “The elite traits should get him drafted inside the first two days, but there are some boom/bust elements to his game right now,” Zierlein wrote. “He should become a future starter at safety, but his size, length and speed could create interest in him as a potential cornerback conversion.” Davis’ athleticism and speed are two reasons why he’s viewed as a Day 2 draft pick, and it will be interesting to see how he fits into the defensive scheme of whichever team selects him.