Massive rookie DT Davis proving a force in the middle, filling glaring hole on Dolphins defense
For years, the Dolphins have searched for a behemoth, athletic defensive tackle who could adeptly anchor a 3-4 defense, swat away blockers and not be swallowed up on double teams.
Paul Soliai served that role effectively for the Dolphins from 2010 to 2013, making one Pro
Bowl.
And though it’s early, Raekwon Davis is displaying signs that he could be that guy long-term.
For a third consecutive game last Sunday, the 6-7, 330-pound Davis flashed the skills that left Dolphins coach Brian Flores openly celebrating his draft selection last April.
Pro Football Focus graded Davis as Miami’s best player on defense against both the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos and sixth-best against the New York Jets. He had five tackles and half a sack in the Jets game.
And there’s this: Davis had 21 tackles in the month of November, which was third among all NFL defensive linemen and 11 more than any other rookie defensive lineman.
The last time an NFL rookie defensive lineman had 20-plus tackles in a month: December 2018, when Tyler Lancaster and Vita Vea did it.
“We’ve been really pleased with him,” defensive line coach Marion Hobby said. “He’s been conscientious, working his tail off. The more he plays, the more confidence he builds. Very happy what he’s done for us.
“If you’re not good inside, it’s hard to be good outside. Having him in there, making them double and tie up two blockers, and when he’s one-on-one him being able to win those matchups is a bigtime advantage in the center of the field.”
As far as long-term potential, does Davis have
Pro Bowl talent? “The sky is the limit for him,” Hobby said.
Davis made quite clear Thursday that eventually becoming a Pro Bowl player drives him. “Hell, yeah,” he said. “That’s my goal. That’s what I want to accomplish.”
Dolphins offensive lineman Jesse Davis says the reason Davis is such a handful to block is he’s “long, tall, has good lev
erage, good motor. He’s tough to deal with. Strength is the biggest factor he brings. Whenever you have a guy that big, he’s hard to move. He also comes off the ball pretty quickly.”
Cornerback Nik Needham put it this way: “This
is the biggest dude I’ve ever seen. First day of camp, you can see why they drafted him. He’s a beast, dominates the middle of the field.”
Davis, the 56th overall pick in April’s draft, admitted he was “struggling with pass rushing and reading fundamental [things] at the beginning of the season. I’m starting to make plays.”
Alabama coach Nick Saban told South Florida reporters after the draft: “Raekwon has got all the tools to be a really good player.
“He’s got great size. He’s hard to block. He is athletic. He can move fairly well.”
But … “he needs a good coach who is going to get him a lot of reps and teach him well,” Saban said. “We were always trying to get his ability to match his production.”
Informed of that comment recently, Davis wasn’t surprised.
“Coach Saban is always a guy who would tell you before it got too bad,” Davis said. “He would just stay on you. He would try to make sure you just stay perfect and do stuff right and keep learning and work on your technique.”
ESPN cameras caught Flores waving his arm in celebration after Miami drafted Davis.
“I was excited obviously to get Raekwon,” Flores said last week when asked about that video. “We got him. He’s improving on a daily basis. He’s probably never seen me smile. He can spend time thinking about whether that’s the same guy he deals with on a daily basis. Not sure he feels that” way.
Davis’ nose tackle position — occupying the middle over the center when Miami lines up in a 3-4 — is challenging because
“you just have so many different blocks,” Davis said. “Teams, do different schemes and that middle is you. That middle is all you. Your name is written on it. You’ve got two A gaps. It’s hard. You’ve got to know your responsibilities, you’ve got to know what scheme that the offense is in and you’ve got to know what you’re doing at all times.”
The development of Davis, Zach Sieler and Christian Wilkins might cause the Dolphins to move on from potential unrestricted free agent Davon Godchaux next offseason.
Godchaux is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a biceps injury, though a return this year hasn’t entirely been ruled out.