Free-agent acquisition Corey Davis has quietly been one of the most consistent New York Jets players this summer.
The wide receiver is a former fifth overall pick that didn’t quite live up to expectations in Tennessee, but Davis isn’t concerned about any of that now, he’s just determined to show what he can do in New York.
Coming off his best season in the league so far — one that fell just short of 1,000 yards receiving due to injury — Davis feels he’s yet to reach his true potential.
On September 8, the Jets WR1 spoke on his new challenge with the franchise. “I’m really excited, I believe— I know that I’m a number one receiver in this league [and] it’s great that [the Jets] saw that during the free agency, but I’m ready for it, like I said I always thought that I was a number one receiver, I just have to go out there and prove it to the league.”
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Davis Developing a Rapport With Zach Wilson
Head coach Robert Saleh announced the captains on September 8 and the offensive ones were Davis and Zach Wilson. It’s fitting that the two were chosen as leaders by teammates, being that they both have led by example together on and off the field.
“I wanted to evolve obviously as a person [but] as a player as well,” Davis told the media, “being a leader is part of that.”
The ex-Titans star has become Wilson’s most trusted target in a hurry and the NFL community is taking notice. Dan Graziano of ESPN recently wrote that you shouldn’t be surprised if “Davis catches 85 passes from Zach Wilson.”
Davis has reached 65 receptions in two out of his first four seasons but he’s never surpassed that number. Graziano’s prediction would amplify that career-high by 20 extra catches.
After the initial preseason game, Wilson told reporters that he has “all the trust in the world in [Davis],” adding that he feels the “connection will keep growing” as the season goes on.
The Wilson-Davis combination was even better against the Green Bay Packers when the QB hit the WR1 for 70 yards off four receptions in limited action.
The pair will hope to keep this red-hot connection alive this weekend in Carolina.
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Davis Ranks in NFL Top 100
The NFL Top 100 is a rank that is voted on by the players every summer before the start of the new season. For the Jets, Davis was the only player to make the cut, coming in at number 91.
Apparently, the wideout’s ability has caught the eye of his opponents around the NFL, just like his leadership impressed his teammates. He’s a physical pass-catcher and a fluid route-runner that is also a tremendous run-blocker out in space.
Coach Saleh has praised Davis on many different occasions, but a quote from August 5 stood out. “He is a very strong man in terms of just character and when you talk to him and have a conversation, you know you’re talking to an absolute adult. He is the model of efficiency in terms of knowing everything he’s supposed to do — getting off the line of scrimmage, being perfect with his breakpoints, putting his body between the receiver and the quarterback so the ball can only get to his hands — he does such a nice job executing in every facet of football whether it’s [the] run game or pass game that it doesn’t pop, but it’s very very efficient and it’s very successful.”
In other words, Davis is an all-around asset both as a player and a person. There’s nothing he does poorly and now that’s finally developed into a grown-a** man, the sky is the limit for him in 2021.
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All-Business Davis Preps for Week 1
On One Jets Drive, Davis noted that a part of him feels like he’s “not supposed to be here” in the NFL based on all the trials and tribulations he’s experienced in life.
His greatest motivation is his “little girl,” Xaviea, and her mother of course. Davis explained that they had a miscarriage on their initial pregnancy — a boy that would have been named Xavier.
The wide receiver also talked about his older brother and “best friend,” Titus Davis, who died of a rapid form of cancer in 2020. Titus Davis was his mentor and his greatest teacher. He helped steer his younger brother on the right course when they were growing up in an adverse situation.
Now Corey Davis seems like the adult, as Saleh mentioned, but it’s no shock that he’s a bit hardened after all those experiences. The Jets WR1 is all-business now, and he’s taking that mentality into his first game of the 2021 season.
“I just look at everything,” the former first-rounder replied when asked about his weekly game-prep, “look at their leverage, their hands, how quick they are in and out of their breaks at the top of routes.”
Davis went on to compliment Panthers’ cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Donte Jackson. He said: “Yeah, honestly both of them are very physical, they’re fast, they got good speed [and] ball skills, and they break on the ball [quickly] so it’s going to take some good ball from us to go out there and handle business.”
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Jets’ Corey Davis Knows He’s ‘a No. 1 Receiver,’ Ready to Prove It