8. Raekwon Davis, DL, Alabama
Height: 6’6″ Weight: 311
40-Yard Dash: 5.12 seconds
Bench Press: 24 reps
Vertical Jump: 28 inches
Broad Jump: 9 feet 3 inches
3-Cone Drill: 7.95 seconds
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.86 seconds
60-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Bio: One of the top players in the state of Mississippi coming out of high school, Raekwon Davis was a four-star recruit with offers in hand from a number of programs including Mississippi State, Florida, Florida State and Georgia. He committed to Alabama – while also signing with Jones Junior College as a potential backup in case academic matters did not clear up – but was able to enroll with the SEC school and play as a true freshman. He became a starter at defensive tackle for the 2017 season and has been a prominent player on their defensive front ever since.
Stat to Know: As we will discuss in a moment, pass rushing is not his forte as a player. But Davis still managed seven sacks back in 2017, his career-high.
Strengths: Davis has tremendous power in the upper body and can win a lot of his one-on-one matchups with the strength behind his hands. He can take on double-teams at the point of attack, sink his hips to maintain leverage and reset the line of scrimmage in the offensive backfield. Like other prospects in this group, Davis is willing to take on those doubles because he knows that the talent around him will make plays if he just does his job.
Davis also has great vision at the line of scrimmage, and combines that with an ability to reset his hands and counter blockers, shedding them at the line and finding a way to the ball carrier. His calling card is as a run defender, and he has the ability and length to long-arm blockers – even trap blockers – and use his other arm to reach for the running back and drag him to the turf. His impressive length and wingspan is certainly a help with that.
As a pass rusher, Davis has never recaptured what he did back in 2017, when he notched those seven sacks. He has an impressive bull rush move for someone of his stature, and can implement a quick swim move from time to time, but someone with his pedigree and experience should have more of a refined pass rushing plan than he does.
Weaknesses: One might wonder if Davis is a finished product. Despite opportunities to do so, he has never refined his pass rushing toolkit beyond what he brings to the table now, and he seems almost the same player now as you can see when you turn on his tape from previous seasons. He needs to develop more of a varied approach as a pass rusher to be an impact player at the next level, otherwise he might get pigeon-holed as a two-down run stuffer.
Conclusion: There are things you can teach, like pass rushing moves and how to consistently strike with your hands. There are also things that you cannot teach, like size, length and power. Davis has the things that you cannot teach a defensive lineman. If a coach is able to take care of the things he does not have in the tool bag yet, someone could be getting a steal in the later rounds. But there will need to be a bit of patience. He might be that two-down run stuffer at first, but with work he could be something more.
Conclusion: Davis seems similar to A’Shawn Robinson, the former Detroit Lion who just signed with the Los Angeles Rams. Their athletic profiles and size are similar, and both seem run stoppers first and pass rushers second.