Wyatt Davis is big, athletic and worthy of a first-round draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The former Ohio State guard is a versatile prospect and he should be a plug-and-play starter in the NFL next season.
Wide-bodied and powerful, Davis is one of the more polished IOL prospects in the draft. He’s been strong enough to consistently create movement against down-linemen in the run game and agile enough to neutralize some of the Big Ten’s most talented inside pass rushers.
Games watched: Michigan (2019), Penn State (2019), Nebraska (2019), Cincinnati (2019) Rutgerts (2020) Michigan State (2020), Indiana (2020)
Best Attributes
Wyatt Davis is an absolute mauler in the run game. Ohio State’s zone-based run blocking scheme took excellent advantage of Davis’ superb lateral quickness and strength at the point of attack. While there’s nothing on his film to suggest that Davis would struggle in a different scheme at the next level, he would fit in best blocking for an NFL team that employs a similar zone-based attack.
Here, Davis does an excellent job of hooking the 1-technique defensive tackle on inside zone before driving his feet and getting a knock-down. Davis dominated all game against Nebraska last season.
Later in the game, Davis opened a gigantic hole for Justin Fields on a zone-read option play. This play is another example of Davis taking a good first step, being physical and chopping his feet to drive his defender out of his gap.
Davis is a really scrappy player and he’s a tough finisher in the run game. On this play against Cincinnati, Davis shows that he possesses the energy, toughness and functional strength that NFL teams covet.
Another one of my favorite finishes from Davis came against Indiana. Davis again gets out of his stance quickly, gets underneath the 2i’s pads and runs his feet before driving the defensive tackle into Indiana’s strong safety for a two-for-one pancake special.
Davis also excelled at getting to the second level in the run game. On this rep, Davis does a great job of sealing off Michigan’s linebacker, getting his body in perfect position and opening up a hole wide enough for JK Dobbins to recover his own fumble and still get downfield. One of the great dumb-luck plays in all of college football history but Wyatt Davis made it possible.
Later in the game, Michigan’s linebacker is playing downhill so Davis has to flip his hips and work flat down the line of scrimmage to seal him off and open up a hole for Dobbins. He gets a great punch and sends the backer flying. Davis is agile and he takes very good angles although he could stand to improve some when it comes to adjusting to linebackers changing course quickly at the second level.
Davis also projects to be a solid pass blocker in the NFL. He moves well laterally and he rarely gets beat because of inferior technique. One of his best reps in pass protection came against Nebraska when he single-handedly blew up an inside twist game from their two defensive tackles.
Davis gets a really impressive punch on the 1-technique and pancakes him into the path of the looping 2-technique. Davis then moves his feet well to get in the path of the looper and gets off another good punch to stop all his forward momentum. The defensive tackle kind of loses his mind after this and by the end of the play Davis has him looking more like a coverage player than an inside pass rusher trying to stunt.
Davis also looked in control while dealing with blitzing linebackers in pass protection. On this rep against Cincinnati, the Bearcats’ big, athletic linebacker is trying to beat Davis to his right but Davis moves his feet well, opens his hips perfectly and gets his right hand into the linebacker’s chest to stonewall him. Davis’ athletic traits and solid fundamentals give him both a high ceiling and a high floor as a prospect.
It should be noted that Wyatt Davis’ 2019 film was stronger than his 2020 film, but he should still be regarded as one of the best IOL prospects in this year’s draft.
Wyatt Davis Potential Landing Spot: Baltimore Ravens 1st Round, 27th overall
One year removed from the retirement of Ravens legend Marshal Yanda, the Baltimore Ravens still need to find his long-term replacement. Adding Davis would go a long way to reestablishing Baltimore as the best offensive line in the league.
Davis would be reunited with Dobbins in Baltimore and he’d feel perfectly at home in the Ravens zone-blocking scheme. The Ravens should be tempted to use this pick on a wide receiver, but given Davis’ talent level and perfect scheme fit, he would be hard to pass up on. Wherever he lands, expect Davis to be an impact starter early on in his NFL career.
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