Scouting Jets rookie running back Isaiah Davis

Taking a look at a Jets rookie running back

With the 2024 NFL draft behind us, we’re taking an in-depth look at each of the Jets’ draft picks, in reverse order. We continue today with former South Dakota State running back Isaiah Davis, who was selected by the Jets towards the end of the fifth round.

The 22-year old Davis is listed at 6’1” and 220 pounds. He was a two-time Missouri Valley Football Conference first-teamer and the 2023 co-offensive player of the year. He rushed for well over 4,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in his career, with two thousand-yard seasons.

Background

Davis didn’t play much early on in his high school career but was a second-team all-state selection after a productive junior year, then became a first-teamer by rushing for over 2,000 yards as a senior. However, because he was a late-developer, he wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school.

Missouri State initially recruited Davis to be a linebacker for them, but he eventually opted to enroll at South Dakota State, who play at the FCS level.

Initially splitting time with current NFL player Pierre Strong, Davis racked up over 800 yards and 10 touchdowns in his freshman year, which was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He then suffered an early season injury in 2021, causing him to miss most of the regular season. However, he returned in time for the postseason, where he put up big numbers to end up with over 700 yards and seven touchdowns for the season as a whole.

2022 saw Davis put together another productive postseason to end the year with 1,451 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 21 passes, having had just nine receptions in his first two years.

In 2023, Davis racked up career bests with 1,578 rushing yards, 18 touchdown runs and 23 receptions. He earned first-team all-conference honors and the co-offensive player of the year award.

Davis was a projected mid-to-late round pick and boosted his stock with a good showing at the 2024 scouting combine. The Jets ultimately selected him with the 173rd overall pick.

Now let’s take a look at what Davis brings to the table, divided into categories.

Measurables/Athleticism

Davis, who has good size and big hands, put up good numbers for speed and explosiveness, especially for a big back. He ran a 4.57 in the 40-yard dash and posted a 34.5-inch vertical and 119-inch broad jump. He also ran a solid 4.30 short shuttle at his pro day.

He is known for his strength and power and showcased good strength with 23 bench press reps at the combine.

Usage

Davis is a conventional running back, with experience of lining up in one and two-back sets and running both gap and zone concepts. He lined up outside or in the slot a few times a game over the past few years, but didn’t produce much from there.

At times, Davis would take direct snaps so he was tasked with reading the defense. He also attempted three passes, but all three were incomplete.

He also played linebacker in high school and, as noted, was almost recruited to Missouri State in that position.

Running ability

Davis was a productive back in college, albeit he didn’t get to play against top level opposition much. Iowa held him to 50 yards on 18 carries in a 7-3 loss in 2022. He has shown that he can handle a big workload, although he actually only carried the ball more than 20 times once in the 2023 season.

While known for his power, Davis shows some excellent footwork and balance, with the burst to break into the clear for some big gains.

He may, however, lack breakaway speed for the NFL level, and scouts have doubts as to whether he’ll have the lateral quickness to bounce runs to the outside effectively.

Davis is best known for his power, as he has good contact balance, is tough to bring down and looks to drive for extra yards after contact and fall forward at the end of runs.

While not particularly flashy, Davis’ footwork, balance and flexibility enables him to slip tackles at the second level and down the field.

Ball security is just a minor concern, as he fumbled three times in college. He never fumbled more than once in any season, though.

Short yardage

Many of Davis’ 50 career rushing touchdowns came from close to the goal line and he’s an effective option to move the chains in short yardage situations.

It’s difficult to stop Davis in the backfield. In fact, as a freshman, he wasn’t stopped for a loss on any of his first 81 carries.

Pass catching

Davis still needs to develop as a pass catcher. While he had 44 catches over the past two seasons, he averaged less than 8.5 yards per catch and scored just one touchdown.

In addition, all of that production came on screen passes and dump-offs, as he didn’t catch a pass more than 10 yards downfield in his career. There aren’t many examples of route running or great catches on his highlight reel, but he showcased both on this play against Iowa.

He was only credited with one contested catch in his career but did a good job of hanging onto the ball despite a big hit on this play.

Although Davis dropped several passes in his college career, he never had more than two in any single season.

Blocking

Davis has the size and strength to be an effective pass blocker, but he graded out poorly in pass protection throughout his career, despite only allowing one sack. He does show promising flashes of ability in that area at times though.

One thing that stands out on Davis’ film is that he’ll hustle out in front of a ball carrier to make a block, which you don’t often see from tailbacks. While it would be overly simplistic to suggest that he’s a big back and therefore could convert to full back, it’s not inconceivable you could run some plays where he operates as a lead blocker out of a two-back set.

Special Teams

Davis doesn’t have much experience on special teams, but backup running backs are often required to block on return units and/or cover kicks, so he may have to learn those roles.

He does have some limited experience in the return game. He returned three punts in his sophomore year, including one for 17 yards. He also returned seven kickoffs as a freshman, breaking this 50-yard runback.

Instincts

Davis is usually a very decisive runner, but he shows pretty good vision and patience at times.

His instincts seem solid in terms of leaking to open areas as a checkdown option or identifying and picking up blitzes, but he had one false start penalty in 2022.

Davis twice made the Missouri Valley Football Conference Honor Roll while in college.

Attitude

Davis was a captain with the Jackrabbits and his coaches were impressed by his work ethic and how coachable he was. As well as being regarded as a good teammate and mentor, Davis was considered someone who was mature in terms of how he took care of his body.

His on-field discipline was good, with just three penalties in his college career, all in 2022. However, he displays some nastiness and aggression in how he finishes his runs.

Injuries

Davis was affected by a shoulder injury early on in the 2021 season, which caused him to miss eight games. Otherwise, he’s been durable throughout his career.

When he was originally planning to attend Missouri State, Davis suffered a hamstring injury during a conditioning drill and has said that the fact nobody on the team noticed he was hurt factored into his decision not to go there.

Scheme Fit

The Jets’ running game will continue to be built around Breece Hall, but Davis gives the Jets a stable of young options to share some of the workload, along with fellow 2024 draft pick Braelon Allen and last year’s draft pick Israel Abanikanda.

His skill-set would seem to make him a good option to carry the ball and produce well in the Jets’ system but he’ll need to work on some of his passing game skills to be a third down option.

One place both he and Allen could see some work is in short yardage situations. Hall has just 27 yards on 19 carries inside the 10-yard line and only two of his touchdown runs have come from inside the five.

Conclusions

Davis was a logical enough pick for the Jets to make, apart from the fact they already drafted a running back earlier on in round four. However, the team did enter the draft with a lack of depth at that position, so there should be opportunities for both Davis and Allen to contribute.

With good success at the FCS level, it’s difficult to project how soon Davis will be able to make the jump to be a productive NFL back, but he has some talent and brings some upside to the position.