Sean Davis (American football)
| No. 28 – Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | October 23, 1993 Washington, D.C. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 201 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Washington (DC) Maret | ||||||||||
| College: | Maryland | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 58 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 14, 2017 | |||||||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com | |||||||||||
Sean Davis (born October 23, 1993) is an American football safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland.
High school career
Davis attended Maret School in Washington, D.C.. As a senior, he recorded 87 tackles and three interceptions on defense and ran for 823 yards, seven rushing touchdowns, 601 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns on offense. He received offers from North Carolina, Boston College, and Connecticut but ultimately chose to attend the University of Maryland to play football.[1][2]
College career
Davis played at Maryland from 2012 to 2015.[3][4] He played safety his first three years before moving to cornerback prior to his senior year.[5][6] During his career he started 40 of 50 games, recording 319 tackles, five interceptions and 2.5 sacks.
Professional career
Pre-draft
After he performed well at the NFL combine, many NFL analysts projected Davis to be a second or third round selection in the 2016 NFL Draft. Multiple teams and scouts had Davis listed as a safety instead of cornerback because of his size, athleticism, and tendency to give up big plays in coverage. It was reported up to 19 NFL teams were interested in him and he had visits with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[7] He was invited to the NFL Combine and completed all of the combine and positional drills. Davis was satisfied enough with his combine performance and opted to only participate in positional drills at Maryland's Pro Day.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
201 lb (91 kg) |
31+3⁄8 in (0.80 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
4.46 s | 1.56 s | 2.60 s | 3.97 s | 6.64 s | 37+1⁄2 in (0.95 m) |
10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) |
21 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine[8] | ||||||||||||
2016 NFL Draft
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Davis in the second round (58th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft.[9]
Pittsburgh Steelers
On May 20, 2016, the Steelers signed Davis to a four-year, $4.08 million contract with a $1.17 million signing bonus and $1.80 million guaranteed.[10]
2016
Davis began training camp developing as the Steelers' future strong safety but was forced to play the nickel position after Senquez Golson suffered a foot injury. He was the best option with fellow rookie Artie Burns also out due to an injury.[11]
On September 12, 2016, the Steelers started Davis at their nickel back position for the first game of the season against the Washington Redskins. He finished a total of four tackles in the Steelers' victory and became the first rookie defensive back to start a season opener for the Steelers since Chad Scott in 1997.[12] During a Week 3 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, he finished with a total of seven combined tackles and also suffered an injury to his back during the game.[12] On October 9, 2016, he was again the Steelers' starting nickel back against the New York Jets and would finish the game with four solo tackles and six total. Davis was demoted from the nickelback position in favor for Artie Burns after playing in the slot for the first five games of the season.[11]
On November 13, 2016, Davis made a critical penalty when he facemasked Cowboys tight end Jason Witten with less than 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The 15-yard penalty put the Cowboys, who were down 28-30 at the time, in field goal range and they would score the game-winning touchdown the very next play. He later explained he was attempting to pry the ball but when Witten ducked he accidentally grabbed his facemask. Davis finished the 35-30 loss with a combined five tackles.[13]
The following week, Davis replaced Robert Golden as the Steelers' starting strong safety in a victory over the Cleveland Browns and finished the game with three combined tackles and a pass deflection.[14] Four days later, Davis made his second consecutive start at strong safety against the Indianapolis Colts. Late in the second quarter, Davis saved a go ahead touchdown after stopping quarterback Scott Tolzien at the one-yard line after he attempted to dive into the end zone. The next play resulted in an incomplete pass on fourth down. The Steelers went on to win the game 28-7 and improving their record to 6-5. He played on every defensive snap for the Steelers during the game. The next game, Davis recorded four solo tackles, three assisted tackles, and intercepted his first career pass off of New York Giant's quarterback Eli Manning. The Steelers went on to defeat the Giants 24-14. On January 1, 2017, Davis made a season-high eight solo tackles, an assisted tackle, his first career fumble recovery, and sacked Robert Griffin III for the first solo sack of his career in a 27-24 overtime victory over the Cleveland Browns.
Davis finished his rookie season with 70 combined tackles, five pass deflections, 1½ sacks, and an interception while starting nine games and playing in all 16 games. On December 29, 2016, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that Davis was the winner of their Rookie of the Year award.[15]
In the 2016 post-season, Davis recorded 16 c combined tackles and a sack on New England Patriot's quarterback Tom Brady in the AFC Championship game.[16] He was also fined $24,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Kansas City Chiefs' wide receiver Chris Conley during a 18-16 win over the Chiefs in the AFC Divisional round.[17]
2017
During the off season, Davis had surgery to repair a torn labrum he suffered while making a tackle in a Week 3 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles.[18]
He returned as the starting strong safety to begin the regular season. He recorded three solo tackles during the Pittsburgh Steeler's 21-18 season-opening victory over the Cleveland Browns. The next game, Davis collected eight combined tackles as the Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 26-9.
Personal life
Sean Davis was born to Sean and Lisa Davis and is also trilingual. He speaks English, French, and Chinese and majored in communication during his time at Maryland.[2]
References
- ^ Baltimore Sun Media Group (15 August 2014). "Maryland safety Sean Davis turns miscues of last season into study guide". baltimoresun.com.
- ^ a b "University of Maryland Terps: Sean Davis". UMTerps.com. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
- ^ Carroll County Times (2 April 2016). "Maryland's Sean Davis hopes to follow in Sean Taylor's footsteps". carrollcountytimes.com.
- ^ Baltimore Sun (27 February 2016). "Maryland's Sean Davis has versatility in his favor as he eyes NFL shot". baltimoresun.com.
- ^ Carroll County Times (13 August 2015). "Davis switches positions in secondary - Carroll County Times". carrollcountytimes.com.
- ^ Roman Stubbs (13 August 2015). "Sean Davis says his position switch gives Maryland 'the best corner duo out there'". Washington Post.
- ^ Alex Kirschner (April 13, 2016). "Maryland football defensive back, Sean Davis, is drawing quite a bit of NFL Draft hype these days". testudotimes.com. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ^ "Sean Davis". Nfl.com. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
- ^ "Steelers select Davis in the second round". Steelers.com. April 29, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
- ^ Sportrac.com. "Sportrac.com:Sean Davis contract". Retrieved October 13, 2016.
- ^ a b Ray Fittipaldo (October 14, 2016). "Sean Davis too versatile for his own good". Postgazette.com. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ^ a b "Sean Davis/Maryland, CB : 2016 NFL Draft". NFLdraftscout.com. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ^ Alex Kozora (November 14, 2016). "Sean Davis explains, takes blame for costly facemask". steelersdepot.com. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
- ^ Dale Lolley (November 22, 2016). "Trio of rookies making impact on Steeler's defense". observer-reporter.com. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- ^ Bryan DeArdo (December 29, 2016). "Artie Burns congratulates Sean Davis on Steeler's Rookie of the Year award". pit.247sports.com. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- ^ Valente, Daniel (2017-01-23). "Lack Of Pressure Results In Steelers' Turnover Streak Ending In Foxborough". Steelers Depot. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
- ^ Terrell, Katherine (2017-01-18). "Steelers' Davis fined $24K for hit on Chiefs WR". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
- ^ Dave Bryan (May 30, 2017). "Steelers S Sean Davis Played Most Of Rookie Season With Torn Labrum". steelersdepot.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.