The 2024 season is a make-or-break one for Washington Commanders linebacker Jamin Davis. Not only is Davis heading into a contract season, but he’s also learning a new position under a new coaching staff.
A first-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Davis has struggled at times. Part of the issue is that he was raw when the Commanders drafted him. That immediately raised expectations, and once Davis didn’t immediately meet them, people were disappointed.
Davis seemed to take positive steps forward in 2023. However, Ron Rivera and his staff were fired after the season, and Davis would need to prove himself with a new staff that didn’t draft him.
Making matters worse for Davis, Washington signed Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu in free agency. Wagner and Luvu are the Commanders’ unquestioned starters at linebacker. Washington will also sometimes use safeties to come down in the box and act as a third linebacker.
Where does that leave Davis? Head coach Dan Quinn has made it clear he wanted to see what each player does best. He liked Davis’ size and athleticism and thinks he could help Washington as an edge rusher.
Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports recently named four former first-round picks who he thinks can become legitimate superstars in 2024. Davis was one of those four players.
Davis hasn’t quite met first-round expectations in Washington, but he’s kept a starting role almost by default on some less-than-stellar defenses the past few years. But, while gradual, there’s been progress in his development entering Year 4. And this is a premier size/speed/athleticism freak. As a reminder, Davis was 6-foot-3 1/2 inches and 234 pounds with 4.48 speed, a 42-inch vertical, and an 11-foot broad jump at his pro day back in 2021.
And now he’ll soak up an incalculable amount of knowledge from sage, future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner, right next to him in the middle of Washington’s new-look defense. Plus, Dan Quinn has worked with a litany of outstanding linebackers in his long coaching career, and he absolutely got the most out of the comparably sized and athletic Leighton Vander Esch most recently in Dallas.
Davis is a plus run defender and an intimidating blitzer for obvious reasons. He’ll take a step forward in coverage in 2024 to round out his game to become one of the most complete young linebackers in football.
This is a bold prediction. Not because Davis doesn’t have loads of talent, but where is he going to play? Trapasso operates under the assumption that he’ll still play a lot of linebackers while blitzing more. He has worked exclusively with the edge rushers in training camp.
If Quinn plans to use Davis as a situational pass rusher, perhaps he can make a significant impact that can not only give the Commanders a feared pass rusher but also raise his profile heading into a contract year.
A lot will have to go right for Davis, who could be on the roster bubble.