From now until the 2020 NFL Draft takes place, we hope to showcase as many prospects as possible and examine both their strengths and weaknesses. Most of these profiles will feature individuals that the Pittsburgh Steelers are likely to have an interest in, while a few others will be top-ranked players. If there is a player you would like us to analyze, let us know in the comments below.
#99 Raekwon Davis/iDL/Alabama/6’6”, 311 Lbs
The Good
-Impressive combination of height, length, and weight
-Sound tackler with expansive wingspan; finishes well outside of his frame
-Good pop in his hands to knock opponents off balance at point of attack
-Great strength to anchor and defend multiple gaps against the run
-Shows solid short-area quickness when asked to shoot gaps
-Moves well in space and shows necessary range to chase plays as an iDL
The Bad
-Motor and conditioning are legitimate concerns this late in his collegiate career
-Wore down too easily throughout games over the last two years, leading to poor effort snap to snap
-Consistency is a mess; unsure of what player you’re getting snap to snap
-Slow to push pocket at times and relies on size and strength to overwhelm too often
-Doesn’t have much of a pass rush plan overall
-Can be out of control in rush lane, leading to missed sacks
-Coaches took issue with maturity at times throughout career with Crimson Tide
Bio
-Named Second Team All-American by AFCA in 2019
-Played in 48 career games over four seasons at Alabama
-Finished career with 175 total tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, one interception, one pass breakup, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery
-Played in the 2020 Senior Bowl
-Invited to the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, where he ran a 5.12 40-yard dash, recorded 24 reps on the bench, had a 28-inch vertical jump and a 111-inch broad jump, and recorded a 7.95 3-cone drill
Tape Breakdown
Alabama defensive tackle Raekwon Davis is the token defender in this year’s draft class that should have come out last season.
Instead, the former top 100 recruit went back to school for his senior year and put up a second disappointing season, leading many to question his motor, maturity, and overall fit into the NFL game.
Davis burst onto the scene in 2017, recording an interception in the College Football Playoff Championship game against Georgia. That was the culmination of a season in which he put together a First Team All-SEC performance.
After that thought, it’s been all downhill for the freakishly large and powerful defensive tackle from Mississippi.
That said, there’s still some really good tape out there on Davis. That, along with his size, strength, and ceiling should have him hearing his name called at some point on Day 2 of the draft.
As a run defender, Davis has it all. He’s powerful with his punch, stunning tackles as you see in the clip above. Then, he has the strength and quickness to shed the blocker and make the play outside of his frame against the run.
His ability to anchor and stalemate against double teams is a thing to watch.
Yes, he loses a yard here, but look at the strength in his lower half to lock into place and drop the anchor right in the hole. Sure, the back picks up 5 yards on the play, but it could have been much, much worse without Davis clogging up the lane, tying up blockers.
Again, his power at the point of attack and his ability to shed and make the stop is pretty darn impressive.
With his length and strength, he’ll make a ton of plays like this as a tackler outside of his frame.
Good luck moving this guy out of the hole. This Auburn guard found out the hard way.
That’s some incredible strength to anchor quickly and have the pulling guard – with a good head of steam – bounce right off of you. Davis makes this look easy.
Check out the length on the tackle too. He makes plays way outside his frame.
As a pass rusher, Davis has some juice inside. He has a good swim move and packs a powerful club with those long arms and big hands. The problem is, it’s far to inconsistent with him.
Overall, I think Davis has a high ceiling if he can really lock in and untap some of that potential within him. He needs a DL coach that will ride him hard and push him to be great. That seems to have been an issue the last two years at Alabama, leading to complacency and laziness from Davis.
If he can lock in, shed some weight and work on his conditioning, Davis could be a serious weapon in a defensive front moving forward.
Projection: Late Day 2
Games Watched: Auburn (2017), Georgia (CFP Final, 2017), Mississippi (2018), Auburn (2019), South Carolina (2019), Arkansas (2019), LSU (2019)
