OL Davis close to earning starting job
PHILADELPHIA – Pardon Jesse Davis if he’d prefer to remain humble and keep quiet.
Despite serving as the Miami Dolphins’ starting left guard the first two preseason games, and spending the majority of Monday and Tuesday’s practices with the Philadelphia Eagles working with the first-team offense, the former University of Idaho standout isn’t willing to claim victory.
He’ll barely even talk about what he brings to the team.
“I’m big and I can move kind of well,” said Davis, a converted tackle who stands 6-foot-6 and 321 pounds. “That’s probably what I’ve got going for me right now.”
Big and athletic is exactly what Miami’s looking for in the quest to find a replacement for Ted Larsen, the projected starting left guard who tore a muscle in his bicep during the second week of training camp, and will likely be sidelined at least half the season.
“Jesse is a strong football player at the point. He’s a smart guy who really plays the game at a speed you’re supposed to play,” said center Mike Pouncey. “I think he’s done a lot of great things for our offense and deserves those first-team reps. We lost a big piece with Ted going down, but I think Jesse is going to go in there and fill in that spot and do a really good job.”
Davis’ main competition appears to be Anthony Steen, who coincidentally was the come-out-of-nowhere success story of 2016, seeing as how the former University of Alabama starter worked his way up the depth chart enough fillin as a starter for seven games.
Davis and Steen have been splitting the firstteam reps during practice, but with Kraig Urbik, the team’s top reserve, sidelined by a knee injury that will likely force him to miss the Sept. 10 season opener, don’t be surprised if Miami uses Steen as the primary backup at center.
That approach makes sense for Thursday’s preseason game against the Eagles considering it will be Pouncey’s first game back from the hip injury that limited him to five games last season. Pouncey will likely have his snaps restricted, so that means Steen and Jake Brendel will have to play center for at least three quarters.
That could open the door for Davis, who began his NFL career in 2015 with Seattle as an undrafted rookie.
Seattle kept Davis until the final week of the preseason in 2015. He spent that entire year out of football before the New York Jets signed him in January and brought him to camp before waiving him in late August.
The Jets signed him to the practice squad in November of 2016, but cut him after two weeks. That’s when the Dolphins, who were decimated by injuries on the offensive line last season, signed him to Miami’s practice squad, and have been developing him since.
Davis’ teammates say he began to impress Miami’s coaches during organized team activities, showcasing his athleticism, and excelling in the classroom. It doesn’t hurt that his game film shows he’s athletic enough to serve as a pulling guard.