Who Says 'Top-Rated' Jamin Davis Is A 'Washington' Reach? NFL Draft

Who says who's a reach?

The Washington Football Team on Thursday engineered what some have labeled a "surprise'' pick with the 19th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Others are a bit more harsh, ProFootballTalk.com calling the pick of Kentucky linebacker Jamin Davis a "reach.''

But ... sez who?

WFT coach Ron Rivera insists that Davis was the highest-rated defensive player on the WFT draft board when on the clock, and raved about every aspect of the kid, from his talent to his work ethic to his background.

"He understands our culture'' and "plays the game at the right tempo,'' Rivera said. "He's what you look for in a football player.''

And Davis? He's accustomed to the naysayers.

“Honestly, that was one of the things I learned from my mom: Just bet on myself and not let anyone discourage me,'' he said. "Hearing some of the negative thoughts, it didn’t faze me, not one bit. I felt the way I felt about everything that was going on. I just took a bet on myself.”

Yeah, but ...

"Plenty of mock drafts didn’t have him as a first-round pick,'' PFT.com writes, noting with an air of self-importance that their website had Davis going to Green Bay at 29.

The argument against Davis in this regard is full of holes. To wit:

*Why does coach Ron Rivera care about media mock drafts?

*So PFT.com thought Davis merited the No. 29 pick ... but thinks it's ridiculous that he'd go 10 spots ahead of that?

*Who knows better: The WFT personnel department or the PFT typing department?

We don't mean to pick on PFT. (Oh, OK, maybe just a little bit.). But our WashingtonSI mocks consistently paired the WFT with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. So do we have the right to say the WFT is wrong?

Or should we note that as the NFL's Day 2 is about to begin, JOK remains undrafted?

Does that make Rivera wrong? Or does that make us wrong?

There are countless examples of what a football team knows about a prospect that most of us mock drafters do not know. To name one: Rivera mentioned his admiration for Davis as "a military kid,'' as the coach himself was.

Did PFT know that?

PFT points out, "Davis was only a starter for one year, but he has shown himself to be an impressive athlete, and the kind of player that many observers think is only going to improve with NFL experience.''

Washington thinks exactly that. But Rivera also thinks the kid fits now.

"A very intelligent young man,'' Rivera said. "He understands what (we) do and that will translate very well to how we do things."

Added GM Martin Mayhew: "This guy just checked a whole bunch of boxes for us. An outstanding athlete, explosive athleticism, 11-foot broad, 42-inch vertical, 6-3 and a half, under 230, ran under a 4.5 ... He has all the physical attributes that you want."

Jamin Davis, however, does not apparently have all the attributes that ProFootballTalk.com wants. The WFT is going to have to live with that.

CONTINUE READING: 'A Dream Come True': Jamin Davis Will Help Fix Washington