The Buccaneers had several players who outperformed expectations in 2019, but Carlton Davis was the most underrated member of that roster.
The majority of the top performers for the Buccaneers got the credit that they were due, but Carlton Davis is the forgotten man from the 2019 team.
Davis showed impressive individual growth throughout the season as the CB1 for the Bucs despite the weak secondary that he was a member of.
During the offseason that was leading into the 2019 season Carlton Davis looked like the odd man out. The Bucs had recently drafted Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting and they still had Vernon Hargreaves on their roster.
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The Buccaneers decided to start Carlton Davis for all 14 games that he played in which came as a surprise but paid off in the end.
Davis often took the toughest matchups in the division that is widely considered to have the best wide receivers in the NFL and finished the year with 19 passes defended, one interception, and one forced fumble.
Davis’ 19 passes defended were second in the NFL, one behind Stephon Gilmore‘s 20. It should be noted, though, that Carlton Davis played in two less games than Gilmore and would’ve possessed a viable shot at leading the league in passes defended if he played in all 16 games.
Davis didnt put these stats up against weak receivers too. Julio Jones, Deandre Hopkins, and Michael Thomas are some of the best receivers in the league. Davis didn’t have perfect games against these matchups when they lined up across from one another, but no one does. The best thing in the favor of Carlton Davis is that there was clear growth.
Davis covered Deandre Hopkins for the majority of the Week 16 matchup against the Houston Texans. Hopkins was held to only 23 yards on five receptions in that game, practically becoming a non-factor.
Games like that are what show Carlton Davis’ immense upside. If he can cover players like Hopkins, he can cover anyone. That individual performance was one of the most impressive for any Buccaneer in 2019 and largely plays into Davis’ underrated status.
The second-year cornerback from Auburn allowed a completion percentage of 49.6% on 117 targets while keeping opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of 80.0 when throwing at Davis.
There still may be some learning to do, but the body of work so far has shown improvement and indicate that the ceiling has not been met for Carlton Davis. Look for him to continue being a big contributor for the Buccaneers even if he isn’t the most talked about player.