6 Qs: Everything you need to know about new Lions CB Carlton Davis

Former Buccaneers beat writer Jon Ledyard helped us get to know everything we could possibly know about new Detroit Lions cornerback Carlton Davis.

The Detroit Lions’ trade for former Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis is a relatively strong investment in the position for general manager Brad Holmes. Detroit had a huge need there and Holmes hasn’t been too cavalier in giving up Day 2 picks for a veteran player. And while Davis only comes on a one year deal right now, it’s entirely possible the 27-year-old cornerback stays in Detroit longer than that.

To get to know Davis better, we traded a few messages with our good friend Jon Ledyard. Ledyard has watched every snap of the Lions’ 2023 season, as helped us with the Pride of Detroit Direct newsletter. But, more importantly, Ledyard has also covered the Buccaneers for years, and got to know Davis’ game very well over the past six seasons.

Here’s our conversation on the Lions’ cornerback.

Note: Ledyard’s comments were lightly edited for ease of reading.

1) Davis finished second in PBUs in back-to-back seasons. What made him so good then (‘19/‘20) and why has he struggled since then?

The main reasons were how often he was targeted. In those two seasons, Davis was targeted an insane 105 and 121 times! There was a stretch from ‘19 to ‘21 where the Bucs were one of the least run against defenses in NFL history—partially because they were so dominant against the run and partially because they were so predictable against the pass. Davis has always had pretty good ability to find the football in the air, even though his interception numbers are low.

2) Are there any commonalities in his injury history?

The amount and variety of injuries Davis had endured as a Buc, without ever having a significant long-term injury, is pretty crazy. He has basically been a staple on the injury report every year of his career. I lost track of the amount of times he was down on the field and had to leave a game. His injury history is extensive across his body too. Toe, hip and groin injuries have probably been the most frequent, but he’s felt with knees and ankles too. Hamstring. He missed a bunch of weeks with a partially torn quad in 2021, went on IR. Last year, he missed time with a concussion, the first documented one of his career. He’s missed 16 of the past 51 games, and left a bunch of the ones he played in with an injury.

3) Seems like Davis is better suited to man coverage. What are his technical strengths/weaknesses?

He was seen as a press man corner out of college, but (Bucs coach Todd) Bowles’ scheme is Cover 3 heavy with a lot of zone and situational man mixed in. Davis has never been an elite athlete, but size and strength were his big assets early in his career. He’s patient in man coverage and rarely gets flipped around early or juked out of position. Davis has always been at his best against bigger bodied receivers who didn’t have elite athletic ability—he would completely erase Michael Thomas in those matchups during the Brady tenure, and held his own against most of the bigger outside receivers in the league. But the quicker, shiftier WRs killed him. Tyreek Hill famously shredded him for like 200 yards in the first half in 2020, with the Bucs asking Davis to shadow him even in the slot. Cooper Kupp has been rough for him.

In 2020 and 2021, the Bucs asked Davis to follow No. 1 receivers, and he performed admirably, for the most part. The past two years it has been more of a playing sides defense, with Davis playing the left side of the defense while (Jamel) Dean plays on the right side. He rarely plays in the slot.

Davis improved in zone coverage, but was never that consistent. The Bucs are primarily a zone defense, so while he impressed in man, it was never overwhelming, and the reps were limited. In zone, he never had elite click and close, but he did a great job of getting up to play the ball in the air and didn’t make many mental mistakes.

Two frustrating things: One, too many dropped interceptions. His hands are brutal. But he will make plays on the ball if he’s around it. He’ll compete in the air too. And the second thing is penalties. He’s played less overall and less physically the past two seasons, but he was a flag magnet in ‘18 to ‘21—often unfairly, in my opinion. I’ve always thought he got a tough whistle.

4) What do you know about Davis as a person/competitor?

Very calm and soft spoken off the field. Kinda sleepy looking demeanor, but intense. Big film study guy, big team-first guy. After the made up story about Michael Thomas punching C.J. Gardner-Johnson went viral, Carlton shut down Thomas in a game soon after that. After the game he went on Twitter and famously (in Tampa anyway) tweeted “Slaaaaaaaannnnttttt Boyyyyyyyyyyyy”. There is a definite edge to him.

In my opinion, injuries have taken some of that the past couple years. I noticed a significant drop off in his physicality. He almost never runs through contact the past two seasons and is exclusively a drag down or trip up tackler. He just stops his feet in space so much, and tries to tackle high too much without lowering his shoulder to really hit anyone. I think injuries are a part of it. If he’s involved in a notable tackle, he’s often shaken up after the play. I hope this changes, because at his peak he would absolutely hit guys.

5) How is Davis as a run defender/tackler?

Answered a lot of this above, but he’s always gotten involved readily against the run and been a solid defender there. Very few mental mistakes and has no issue getting involved. He’s usually well off the line of scrimmage, though, and never in the slot, so his impact isn’t as big as other corners.

6) What are your overall thoughts on the Lions’ side of the trade in terms of value?

At his best, Davis was a fringe top-10 CB in the NFL, but he hasn’t been close to that for two years now. The amount of games he has missed is concerning, as is the declining physicality on the field. I don’t think he can be his best without that part of his game. Hopefully he can get that back.

But even if he doesn’t, Davis is scheme versatile and won’t beat you with dumb mistakes. Giving up a late third for one year of him probably isn’t something I would have done, just given his declining play, but it’s still a completely reasonable deal and Davis is young enough that he could have a resurgence for sure.

I’m not the biggest Todd Bowles fan in terms of coverage scheme, so perhaps a new defensive coordinator can motivate him as well. He definitely fills a huge need and it seems like he was one of the better players they could have gotten with the free agent market being so poor at cornerback. If he can stay on the field, he’ll help them for sure. He’s obviously the best cornerback on the team right now. But I think that’s a big “if,” and I would still be looking for additional help early in the draft.