New York Jets: Five players to be thankful for in 2017

Demario Davis

Demario Davis is in his second tenure with the Jets, and this time he has been a different player. It’s fair to say that during his first term, he was hard to watch to say the least. Especially when it came to guarding backs and tight ends out of the backfield, Davis looked lost. A simple “wheel” route would have Davis running around like a headless chicken at times. He could tackle but his play wasn’t unique enough to keep him around as the heir apparent to David Harris.

So Davis was allowed to walk and he spent one year in the football wasteland known as Cleveland. After one year he was re-acquired for Calvin Pryor who ended up being cut by the Browns. This is about Davis, who was able to morph into a new player in just one year. Just like that he became a player with the ability to start in the middle of this defense for the long haul.

So far this season, Davis has been a tackling machine. As of the writing of this post, Davis is tied for 8th in the NFL with 82 combined tackles. With an 81.8 overall grade on Pro Football Focus Davis ranks 16th in the NFL among eligible linebackers. His real improvement is in his pass defense. Has it been perfect? No. But PFF does have him ranked 19th in the league with a grade of 78.3.

It may be surprising but it’s good to have Demario Davis back.