Davis’ role narrows, but rookie linebacker is still growing

ASHBURN — Growing up in Georgia, Jamin Davis heard time and again from those who thought he was out of position as a linebacker. Too small, they’d say. With your speed, you should be utilized elsewhere.

But Davis never considered switching. He knew he had two things going for him as a linebacker: He loved calling out the plays to set up the defense — he was good at it. And he loved to hit. And he was good at that too. 

“I knew after my first little taste of contact that I wanted to end up hitting people for a living,” he said recently, “and being a guy who was out there controlling the show.”

Washington drafted the 22-year-old to do just that. The first-round pick out of Kentucky is projected as a three-down linebacker — a do-it-all type who can not only control the show, but one who can disrupt opposing offenses by taking away the middle of the field. 

Two preseason games into his NFL career, Davis isn’t there yet. In fact, the coaches seem to be narrowing his role in the defense, keeping him as the middle linebacker in its 4-3 base defense. When the team deploys its nickel package — which it used 65% of the time in 2020 — Davis isn’t normally one of the two featured linebackers. Washington instead has rolled with veterans Jon Bostic and Cole Holcomb. 

Coach Ron Rivera said that playing Bostic and Holcomb together gives the formation “a little bit more savvy,” adding the two communicate well.

There’s a bigger role for Davis down the road, but for now, Washington is holding back — in part because of the learning curve facing the rookie.

Rivera said Davis is “still developing,” telling reporters that the former Wildcat has been hesitant on some plays. But the Washington coach saw progress in Friday’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

“One of the biggest things for him right now is just getting used to teams playing sometimes under center versus sometimes in the ‘gun (formation), “ Rivera said. “For the most part, he came into the league playing against ’gun all the time. So now he’s got to get used to playing quarterbacks under center.

“That’s a whole different type of reading and understanding in the scheme that you’re playing against.” 

The “gun” that Rivera refers to is the shotgun formation, where quarterbacks often receive the ball several steps upright compared to the center directly hiking the ball to the signal-caller’s hands. Depending on the formation, plays develop at a different pace and Davis must determine where the ball is headed on each play. Rivera said he sees Davis “anxious” to make plays, but has to grasp his reads.

Against the Bengals, Davis played 17 snaps, and there were times when he was clearly scrambling to adjust to the offensive setup. On a first-quarter play, for instance, Davis rushed to the line, only to backpedal as he belatedly realized the play was a pass. Before Davis could get back into position, Bengals quarterback Brandon Allen had fired the ball in for a completion.

Speaking to reporters last week, Davis said he’s started to get a feel on the NFL’s pace. After watching film of his first game against the New England Patriots, Davis came away with the impression that he could be more decisive when going downhill and being “a little more exact” in pass coverage. 

“You can’t really dwell on it,” Davis said. “You get the corrections the next day and just from that point on, you just got to go and jump into who you got next. There’s no reason to sit around and just watch what you did last week or the week before that or whatever.  You just go onto the next one.”

Washington isn’t worried. At Kentucky, Davis was a fast riser — a player who thrived when he finally got an opportunity to start his junior year. That aspect of Davis’ game appealed to Washington in the scouting process, how Davis could pick up on a concept and then learn it quickly. 

The goal for Davis is to play fast and react instinctively. 

He’s not there just yet.

“You see the growth,” Rivera said.  “That’s probably the biggest thing is you see the improvement and you see them playing faster and faster.”