Tennessee Titans: Everyone is too hard on Corey Davis
By Will Lomas
Tennessee Titans fans need to examine the reasons why they don’t like Corey Davis.
Alright, I have seen enough to know that the NFL Draft community (or at least a large part of it) doesn’t value one prospect like they need to. That player is Western Michigan WR, Corey Davis.
Here is a question I want everyone to ask themselves. What issue do you have with Corey Davis that you couldn’t have with Myles Garrett pre-combine?
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Think about it. What is the one big knock that you constantly hear with Corey Davis: he didn’t produce against elite talent.
Corey Davis over his 4 year career averaged over 1,300 yards per year. That isn’t a number him at his peak, that is what he averaged. To put that in even better perspective, his average is slightly less than what Mike Williams was in his best year with 1,361 yards.
In Myles Garrett’s career guess how many sacks he averaged against SEC opponents per year? Just 4 per year. The rest of his sacks came in spike performances against teams like Rice (2.5), Louisiana-Monroe (3.5), Nevada (3.5), and UT San Antonio (4.5).
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Dominance against smaller competition is a great thing to have on your resume and it is a big part of what separates good college players and great NFL prospects. However, don’t blindly criticize because the narrative fits your thoughts on one guy and not the other.
Something that doesn’t get talked about enough is what Corey Davis did over bigger names that he played against. Look at this list of what he did over his career:
2013
Michigan State: 8 rec, 96 yards, 1 TD
Northwestern: 5 rec, 112 yards, 1 TD
2015
Michigan State: 10 rec, 154 yards, 1 TD
Ohio State: 6 rec, 42 yards (against NFL CBs with help and no other real threats)
MTSU: 8 rec, 183 yards, 1 TD (against a team with a future NFL CB and Kevin Byard)
2016
Northwestern: 7 rec, 70 yards
Wisconsin 6 rec, 73 yards, 1 TD
While all those numbers aren’t eye popping (some are) you have to remember that he is the alpha dog on that team that gets identified early and gets a ton of attention. He isn’t playing on a wide open team with three other NFL caliber WRs and a great QB.
He is doing this while playing several different roles and going against heavy coverage.
I am not saying that Garrett isn’t a great player or that you shouldn’t be wary of players who go against lesser competition. I am saying that if you are going to have criticisms be fair with them. Don’t just say something because it sounds good but then have no idea that your #1 player had the same issues.