We might get our first look at rookie right guard Nate Davis in 2019 during the Week 4 game against the Atlanta Falcons.
Tennessee Titans rookie right guard Nate Davis believes he’s ready to take the field for the first time in 2019 on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
Davis has missed each of the first three games as a healthy scratch after missing significant practice time thanks to an injury during training camp, which led to him falling behind in his development.
But Davis believes he’s ready to go in Week 4, so the only thing that could stop him from making his NFL debut is if his head coach, Mike Vrabel, doesn’t agree.
Before practice, Nate Davis said he was ready to play if called upon. Mike Vrabel hinted that Davis could play this week. Davis hasn’t been active on game day yet this season. #Titans
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) September 23, 2019
This is the first time we’ve heard Davis make such a declarative statement about being ready. He’s been pretty quiet up until now, and really the only updates we’ve heard have been from Vrabel.
When asked about Davis’ status for Sunday, Vrabel didn’t really hint one way or the other, but rather echoed what he said after the Week 3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Vrabel said he hopes to get rookie guard Nate Davis ready to play this week @Titans
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) September 23, 2019
Following the Thursday night debacle that saw the Titans surrender nine sacks and 12 QB hits, Vrabel admitted the Titans would need Davis to get ready for the next game — and that was only cemented by the fact that fellow right guard Jamil Douglas got a 12.4 pass-blocking grade.
Personally — and I think a lot of Titans fans would agree — I’m done with Douglas. If for some reason Davis still can’t go or doesn’t get the start and a full compliment of snaps, I’d rather see Aaron Stinnie get a shot. Basically, it’s anyone but Douglas at this point.
Hopefully Davis is ready to play and we can finally see what the Titans have in their third-round pick. Of course, we haven’t seen Davis on the field yet and there’s no telling just how good or bad he might be, but at least it’s something different than what the Titans have been trying.
If Davis can rise to the occasion and be the upgrade the Titans are hoping for, this line stands to be a lot better moving forward, and that’s especially true when left tackle Taylor Lewan returns for Week 5.