New York Jets: Five players responsible for the unexpected strong start

Demario Davis

He was supposed to be the heir apparent to Bart Scott/David Harris. It didn’t exactly work out that way and he spent a year in the wasteland that is the Cleveland Browns. I guess he didn’t like it down there too much because upon his return to New York, Demario Davis has become what the Jets expected of him the first time around.

Take a look at how he has graded out so far, according to Pro Football Focus.  Overall Davis comes in with a grade of 80.4, which ranks him 17th in the NFL overall at his position. Remember how we used to complain about him in the passing attack? He has improved there as well, ranked 19th in the NFL with a grade of 78.3. For a frame of reference, Sean Lee of the Cowboys grade is 78.4 in pass coverage.

I would say that posting similar grades to Lee would be improvement, wouldn’t you?

As far as tackling is concerned, Davis is right there with the upper echelon of the league through nine games. His 75 combined tackles are good for third in the NFL, behind only C.J. Mosley with 76 and Zach Brown with 86. After spending a year in Cleveland, Davis has become more of a complete linebacker than he ever was during his first tenure with the Jets. To get him back for an underperforming safety was a great move by Mike Maccagnan.