Gang Green Nation
Taking a look at a Jets linebacker reclamation project
Towards the end of the regular season, the New York Jets claimed linebacker Jamin Davis off waivers from the Minnesota Vikings. He was inactive for the team’s final game of the season and is now a pending unrestricted free agent. Today, we look at Davis in detail.
The 26-year old Davis is listed at 6’4” and 234 pounds. He was the 19th overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Kentucky. He has started 31 games in his career so far and racked up 287 tackles, eight sacks and six passes defensed.
Background
Davis was a three-star recruit out of high school and enrolled at Kentucky where he redshirted his freshman year in 2017.
In 2018, he mostly played on special teams but did record 10 tackles and an interception in 13 games.
He played a bigger role in 2019, starting the first game of his career and ending the season with 32 tackles, a sack and an interception in 13 games.
2020 saw Davis move into a full-time starting role and he was named as a first team all-SEC selection by PFF and a second-team selection and honorable mention all-American by Phil Steele. He ended the year with 102 tackles and three interceptions in 10 games.
At the end of the 2020 season, Davis opted to enter the 2021 NFL draft and was initially considered a likely mid-round pick. However, his stock soared after his pro day workout and he was eventually picked 19th overall by the Washington Commanders.
In his rookie year, Davis played mostly in a rotational role, but he became a starter down the stretch due to an injury. He ended up with 76 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack.
As a full-time starter in 2022, Davis started 15 of 16 games and racked up career-highs in tackles (104), tackles for loss (nine) and quarterback hits (five). He also added three sacks.
He started the first 13 games in 2023 before missing the last month due to injury. He had been on course for a career year with 89 tackles, eight tackles for loss and three sacks. He did set a career-mark with four pass breakups and also had the first interception and the first two forced fumbles of his career.
However, in 2024, he began the year in a reserve role, having moved from linebacker to edge. The experiment lasted five games before he was waived in October. After four weeks on the Packers’ practice squad, he was poached by the Vikings and played four times for them. He ended the season with 18 tackles in nine games, adding one sack.
Davis was waived by the Vikings at the end of the season and claimed by the Jets but did not play in the final game and is now out of contract.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Davis brings to the table, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism...
