Is Raekwon Davis Ready for a Bigger Role?
Defensive tackle Raekwon Davis was the last of the Miami Dolphins' five picks in the first two rounds of the 2020 NFL draft, and perhaps the most controversial.
Now, five games into his rookie season, he appears to be staring at the possibility of making a major contribution to the defense.
With the news Tuesday morning that defensive tackle Davon Godchaux likely will miss the rest of the season because of a biceps injury, the Dolphins will need for somebody to step up and Davis is the most logical candidate.
Zach Sieler already was looking at significantly increased playing time even before this news because of how well he has performed, but the story is different with Davis.
The second-round pick from Alabama has played 92 snaps on defense so far this season and has two tackles and three assists. He did not appear on the stat sheet the past two games.
Defensive coordinator Josh Boyer and defensive line coach Marion Hobby both spoke about Davis on Tuesday as a young player still learning about life in the NFL.
“Like all young guys, there’s some ups and downs," Boyer said. "You kind of have to, one, learn what the NFL is about, two, learn about being a professional, which I think Raekwon is working hard to do all those things. It’s hard to perform in this league. It’s hard to win in this league. There’s a constant reminder of, hey, you need to get better on this, you need to get better on this. Or, hey, this is good, let’s build on this. I think Raekwon comes in, he loves football, he puts in a good day’s work. We’re going to hope that continues to improve week by week, which is what we’re all striving to do.”
Davis joined the Dolphins as the 56th overall selection after the team decided against moving up to try to take one of the top running backs available. Ohio State star J.K. Dobbins was selected by Baltimore immediately before the Dolphins took Davis.
The scouting report on Davis was that his production at Alabama simply didn't match his ability and he never was able to build on a great sophomore season in 2017.
If the Dolphins were hoping to bring him along slowly, the timetable now clearly has been accelerated.
“I think he’s getting closer and closer and getting better and better each week," Hobby said. "Time will tell. Like we talked about earlier this year, this is a long season and everybody in that room is counted. One thing about pro football is you can’t keep 12 like you keep in college sometimes. Those guys that you do keep on the roster, they’ve just got to keep getting better and better. I think he’s going to keep getting better as the season goes along.”
