As Washington’s defense struggled through the first quarter of the 2021 NFL season, rookie linebacker Jamin Davis played sparingly. Washington, which rarely has three linebackers on the field at once, used Cole Holcomb and Jon Bostic over Davis for the majority of the time.
When Bostic went down with a season-ending injury in Week 4, that meant the door was open for Davis to see the field — whether the coaches were ready for Davis to play a more prominent role or not.
Naturally, fans were pessimistic that perhaps Washington reached on Davis with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
Relax.
In Washington’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Davis played 46 snaps, which accounted for 56% of Washington’s 82 defensive snaps. Davis also recorded a career-high 11 tackles, which led the team. Davis was much more active during his time on the field Sunday, and while he wasn’t perfect, Davis is coming along well, according to head coach Ron Rivera.
“I think he is showing signs of what we believe he can be,” Rivera said Monday, per Zach Selby of washingtonfootball.com. “And that’s a downhill guy that could run.”
Last week, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio said he wanted Davis to “let it rip” when he’s on the field.
The key for Davis is to react instead of overthinking while he’s on the field. Being on the field consistently will only help Davis adjust to the NFL game faster and become an integral part of Washington’s defense.
Sunday showed signs of progress, and that’s good news for a defense that needs plenty of good news.
