Bucs Briefing rolls on with our in-depth look at the 2019 tape of each key member of the Bucs 2020 roster, turning the page to perhaps the team’s biggest X-factor for the 2020 season: their top three cornerbacks. Despite their youth and inexperience, Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting will enter this offseason as the team’s undisputed and unchallenged top three cornerbacks. If they all take another step forward in their growth as players – a big “if” – the Bucs defense could be among the NFL’s best.

CB Carlton Davis – 6-1, 206 – 23 years old – 3rd season

The penultimate pick in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Davis’ selection was the second of the Bucs’ two second-round picks at cornerback, after the team grabbed North Carolina’s M.J. Stewart 10 spots ahead of him. It didn’t take Davis long to surpass his higher-selected teammate, starting 12 games as a rookie before becoming a full-time starter in 2019.

Going into his tape study, I expected Davis to be similar to what I recalled from his college film study: big, long and strong, but struggling to mirror-and-match or make plays on the ball in the air.

Some of that is still true for Davis. His transitions are just okay for the position, and breaking on throws in front of him out of his pedal can be laborsome.

That’s not a bad close on the ball at all (top of the screen), but Davis isn’t the type of twitched up corner or ultra-fluid man cover guy that is going to make a ton of these plays from off coverage. He is smart and aggressive however, willing to come downhill and play the catch point with ferocity when he reads routes correctly.

When he plays flat-footed and doesn’t give any ground before the route breaks in front of him however, Davis is dangerous. Not being forced to change directions is the key, as Davis simply sits and waits rather than retreating in his pedal on these reps. Never give the receiver more space if you don’t have to.

That second play gave me goosebumps. That’s how Davis plays every snap: ultra-aggressive and ready to compete at a high level. There are several examples of him lowering the boom for a big hit this season, or running through a receiver as the ball arrives. And good luck trying to stalk block him on the outside.

Yes, he gives up outside contain when he gets over-aggressive here, but you gotta admire how he manhandles the opposing receiver throughout the whole rep. Not only does Davis have the high-end physical tools, but he has the play demeanor to match. He’s a dog.

We don’t talk enough about how well Davis played against Julio Jones this past season, even if the numbers don’t look great. There is room to improve, but Davis challenged almost everything. These are three of the biggest catches he surrendered in the two games they met.

Gives up a big-play down the sideline, but Davis’ read of Jones’ release and his turn out of press are very good. He just loses a half-step down the sideline and can’t make a play on a perfectly thrown ball. This is more of a perfect play by Jones and Ryan than a bad play by Davis, but the Auburn product’s biggest concern does show up here: his speed and overall athleticism are good, not great.

Smothering coverage, and somehow the ball gets through. Davis was called for DPI here as well, but it sure doesn’t look like he committed an infraction. This is terrific coverage, just gotta get that hand in the catch window a tad sooner.

Again, Davis completely smothering Jones, just gives up some separation at the top of the route as Jones clearly pushes off. That’s probably never going to be called on an in-breaking route like that, so major props to Jones, but it’s hard to knock Davis for much here. Especially when you see some of the reps he didn’t allow a completion to Jones.

Davis played just a handful of snaps in the slot this past season, and busting up this quick slant to Jones was a highlight. You can see the difference his length makes at the catch point when he reads and reacts in time. 32 3/4-inch arms are among the longest in the league, and they allow Davis to play around the receiver and still defend the catch point. It’s a rare trait for NFL corners.

Davis versus Jones on a shallow crossing pattern. Stays square against Jones’ release, which allows him to play in the receiver’s hip pocket and break on the ball at the last minute. Very difficult route to defend without elite speed. Make one false move at the line of scrimmage and you’re toast. Good patience by Davis.

There are always going to be some athletic limitations to Davis, but his smarts, physicality and technique have all developed really nicely in the NFL. The other area of his game that has clearly improved is Davis’ ability to turn and find the football with his back to it. This was one of the weakest areas of his game in college, but it’s becoming a strength in the NFL if the 2019 season is any indication.

From Week 8 on, Davis had 15 pass breakups and his lone interception, using his length and awareness to locate and make plays on the ball down the field.

An outstanding route by Jones loses Davis for an instant, but he makes an excellent recovery by getting his head around and knocking a wobbly pass down. I know Ryan getting hit impacts the throw, but at Auburn, Davis would have probably run through the receiver and gotten called for DPI here. This is huge progress in his confidence to turn and find the ball in the air, and it almost results in an interception.

Smooth post-corner route by Corey Davis, which exposes some of Carlton Davis’ woes in transitioning. Still, it’s a solid speed-turn from the Bucs’ corner, who recovers most of the ground he lost out of the break and does an outstanding job elevating and high-pointing the football.

Because Davis has such elite length and strength for the position, he is not going to give up much at the catch point if he continues to show this ability to play the ball in the air. The only way to beat him for big plays is gonna be with speed, and he’s not given up enough vertical shots to burner-type receivers to get overly concerned about that yet.

Davis stays on top of Michael Thomas all the way, then gets his head around and swats down the back shoulder throw. That is one of the hardest routes to defend and make a play on the ball, yet Davis is able to on this rep. It starts with great patience to stay square and release with Thomas at the line of scrimmage.

One area that Davis will have to improve on moving forward is penalties. Last year he was called for 12 infractions, including five defensive pass interference and four defensive holding flags. The good news is that six of them occurred during the first three weeks of the season, and that Davis righted the ship significantly after that. The bad news is that Davis still finished the season tied for the third-most penalized defensive back in the league. After nine total flags in over 200 less snaps the year before, Davis now has a reputation he’ll need to shed moving forward.

I don’t think Davis will ever be an elite, No. 1 shutdown corner, but his Year Two progress is understated, and I absolutely think he can be a very good No. 2 cornerback if he doesn’t have to shadow an opponent’s best receiver every snap. Over the second half of last season, Davis played some really quality football. Athletic concerns limit his ceiling, but Davis’ ball skills exploding in Year Two is going to eventually result in more interceptions next season. He already dropped several this past season. Law of averages says those will start breaking his way in year three.

CLICK ON THE NEXT PAGE FOR ANALYSIS ON JAMEL DEAN