Jarrad Davis’s Has Been Impressive As He Looks To Takeover A Leadership Roll For The Detroit Lions’.
Friday was the first day I was able to attend training camp. Jarrad Davis immediately stood out to me. Jarrad Davis’s training camp exhibited everything that you want out of your starting linebacker. Davis directed people at the line of scrimmage. He was shouting at his teammates, getting them into the correct positions. Davis played hard on every play. He played to the whistle, and he played well. Despite the Lions selecting Davis in the first round, he played like a man that was fighting for his job.
what really stuck out to me Tuesday was how vocal he was in communicating to the defense. big role he's taking on, not shying away from it.
— Ryan Mathews (@Ryan_POD) August 2, 2017
Most importantly, Jarrad Davis’s training camp performance showed that he had the fire and attitude to play middle linebacker in the NFL.
In a non or light contact drill, Jarrad Davis set a new tone for the linebackers by coming up and smacking Marvin Jones immediately at the catch point. This knocked Jones backward a few yards and drew applause from the crowd.
Marvin Jones wasn’t down yet.
Jarrad Davis immediately followed up with hitting him again, harder this time and drew more cries of approval from the crowd.
Jarrad Davis' physicality was on display with a hit on Marvin Jones Jr. during 7 on 7s today. What they had to say: https://t.co/971gUyImmX pic.twitter.com/ZdVZH4I1p4
— Tori Petry (@sportstori) August 4, 2017
From this point on, the linebackers were fired up. Tahir Whitehead was celebrating every play he made in the backfield like he was playing in the Super Bowl. Antoine Williams was coming up ad popping guys at the line of scrimmage. Jarrad Davis was a leader both vocally and by example throughout the duration of training camp, and that is something to be excited about.
It is easy to forget how young these players are. Jarrad Davis, a rookie, is younger than most of his defensive teammates, but he came out there, new to the team, and had the self-confidence to be shouting orders and directing teammates. This is the sign of a leader and a player that will have a long career in the NFL.
Beyond his leadership, Jarrad Davis’s training camp showed fans exactly why he has drafted. He did everything that the team asked him to do, and he did most things well. There were a number of coverage sacks, both in the mock game and in individual drills. This came, in a large part, due to solid coverage by the secondary, but also by coverage of the linebackers in the middle of the field. This was something that the Lions needed to improve on from last year, and Jarrad Davis showed well here.
Thanks for checking out the article everyone. Go Lions! You can follow me on Twitter @Lanny1925 and be sure to join the community on the Detroit Lions subreddit.
