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Player Name: Corey Davis
H/W: 6'3 209
Position: Wide Receiver
School / Class: Western Michigan / Senior
Measureables: N/A
The Tape
Strengths:
- The golden tree of routes - I consider Davis to be the best route runner in the class, no questions asked. He literally ran every route in the book during his time in Kalamazoo except the 9 for some odd reason. WMU runs a lot of similar concepts to Clemson's offense with the fake toss sweep / draw action. From the games and highlights that I watched, they run a ton of short and intermediate routes like crosses, slants, and the like with an occasional deep shot over the top to CD. This is a huge benefit to the Titans as Marcus Mariota is downright deadly on the short to intermediate routes, particularly in the red zone. Davis is a proficient route runner and doesn't waste many steps. Definitely knows where he's going and doesn't take any adventures getting there.
- Athleticism - Davis is a very underrated athlete given his lack of measureable numbers (i.e. Combine or Pro Day). He's not the fastest guy but uses what he has to great effect. Has a hidden gear. MTSU and Kevin Byard found that out rather quickly. It's like he pressed the X button on the PlayStation controller and zoomed away. A physical specimen that relishes contact instead of shying away from it. Uses his physical gifts best in the red zone where he attacks the ball.
- Blocking - It's no wonder that the Titans fell in love with him enough to take him at 5. He is the best blocker at his position by far. In every piece of action that I could see him, he was going all out in his assignments. Most receivers just go about their business nonchalantly but Davis is completely the opposite. He actually works at it and loves it. There were several instances of him lighting up unaware defenders like he was the DB that I saw. Also, I noticed that he was fully engaged with the defender like he was an offensive lineman. DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry will appreciate him a lot in this aspect.
- Production - Here we are at Jon Robinson's favorite word in the dictionary. Davis put up a monstrous 332 receptions for 5,285 yards along with 52 touchdowns in his career. He's the all time FBS (Division 1) leader in receiving yards. Increased his stats every year. So, he had a quite productive career in Kalamazoo despite having to work with arguably the worst QB in all of Division 1.
Weaknesses:
- Drops - From the stuff that I saw him, he has the occasional what are you doing? drop. The question begs itself, was he bored of dominating lesser competition so he had lapses in concentration? Davis had 11 drops during 2016. It's not an issue of poor hands but mental focus for him.
- Injuries - Are we seeing Kevin Dodd 2.0 here? The ankle injury has me concerned a bit that it's taking this long to heal up. Will it be a chronic thing or just an one time thing? It is hoped that he will be ready to go by camp but I'm wary of leg and foot problems for receivers.
- Competition - Granted, the MAC has improved a ton over the years but it's still the MAC. How will he handle the step up in the level of competition that is the NFL? Couldn't do much about fate awarding him only two stars and one scholarship offer but he made the most of it.
Bonus Notes
It's a minor miracle that Davis had the production that he did due to the fact that his QB, Zach Terrell was terrible and borderline unwatchable. In this case, the receiver made the QB instead of the other way around. Terrell was so bad that I had to step away from my TV and computer off multiple times to get the bad play out of my system.
Final Summary:
Yes, I do love the pick even though I was an unabashed Mike Williams supporter through the process. After further studies of Davis, I have come around on him. Sure, Williams is a bit more athletically and all that but Davis is the best all around receiver in the class. It is expected that he quickly becomes the WR1 that everyone has pegged him to be. The Saint of Eugene, Oregon will enjoy having Davis in the red zone, where Mariota is nigh unstoppable. Also I can see Mularkey and co break out the exotic portion of smashmouf for him as well in due time. Davis also threw the ball a couple of times and ended up with a perfect passer rating. He's coming for your job, Marcus!! The Titans fanbase and possibly the team has been clamoring for a true alpha "X" receiver for years on end. Well, Davis is that and then some. Out of the litany of receivers that were projected to the team, he's the best fit. And no, national media, the 5th pick was NOT too high to spend on him. I honestly don't believe he would have made it past 13, much less 18.