Ryan Davis Will Keep Up His Stellar Play Against Texans
By Luke Sims
Ryan Davis has been a surprise success for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The undrafted player has really come on during his third season with the Jags, amassing seven sacks (PFF, 5.5 per ESPN and Pro Football Reference) and developing from a rotational player into an important pass rushing piece for the Jaguars.
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He has become an integral part of a
potent defensive line anchored around defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks
. He’s arguably the best defensive lineman for the Jaguars, relying on his versatility both inside and outside to put pressure on the quarterback. He’s rocketed up PFF’s defensive tackle scores,
while also turning in solid performances as an edge rusher.
While his body of work is more limited on the outside, when measuring all rushers from the defensive end position this season, he has the third best pass rush productivity among 4-3 defensive ends. At his more frequent defensive tackle role, Davis is a top 10 run defender, where his 12.8% of run defense snaps result in a defensive stop. His pass rush productivity at the position also lands him at third overall (among players with 25% of a team’s snaps at defensive tackle).
All in all, Davis has been dominating when he’s on the field. For some reason, he’s still used as a rotation player, piling on his sacks in addition to five QB hits and 11 hurries with just 140 total snaps on defense.
Davis may not be involved all day against the Texans, but he has proven that he can get it done when he is on the field. He’ll most definitely see some game time against the division rival, requiring the Texans to deal with him, Marks, and Chris Clemons all day long. That rotation will cause concern for Houston as Ryan Fitzpatrick and company try and find success in back to back weeks.
Personally, I think Davis will have a great day against the Texans. He’s due for a sack after a game without taking down the quarterback when everyone else seemed to be doing so.
As mentioned when discussing Marks, the defense keeps the Jaguars in games and gives them a shot to win. Marks is definitely the anchor of the defensive line, while Davis is becoming a bit of a specialist at disrupting plays. When he’s on the field on Sunday, expect good things to happen.