FAB 3. Davis Looks To Thrive In Bowles’ Scheme

Carlton Davis’ first season in the NFL was nothing short of a trial by fire for the rookie from Auburn. It was a season full of growing pains, gaining experience and oftentimes coming up just an inch short of breaking up a touchdown pass or coming away with an ever-elusive interception.

Still, through it all, and playing in a style of defense that featured too much off coverage and not enough press man coverage, the physical, 6-foot-1, 206-pound cornerback battled and fought his way through a difficult 5-11 season. Davis made it out alive and a better player in Week 17 than he was as a starter in Week 1.

Bucs WR Carlton Davis and Panthers WR Chris Samuels – Photo by: Mary Holt/PR

“I learned a lot,” Davis told me in an exclusive interview for PewterReport.com, reflecting on last year. “Coming out I learned the speed was totally different from college. I learned that preparation is a must in the NFL, and I learned that week in and week out, anybody can be ‘the guy.’

“It’s not a matter of the competition, it’s just a matter of preparing yourself. it’s a long season, so you’ve got to take care of your body, even in the littlest of ways. Even the small things count. And as far as my rookie year, it was cool. Not where I hoped we would be, but it is what it is. Next year I’ll come back stronger and be a lot more productive.”

Davis was battle-tested coming from the the SEC, but quickly learned that there are no teams like Louisiana-Monroe, Georgia Southern, Mercer or Arkansas State on Tampa Bay’s schedule. No easy wins, no chump receivers to cover. Every receiver that Davis faced last year was either really good or a Pro Bowler like Atlanta’s Julio Jones or New Orleans’ Michael Thomas.

“I feel like every game poses a different threat,” Davis said. “I went up against a lot of good players in the NFL, and you know I can’t really say like ‘this guy was the ultimate competitor,’ because I feel like every team we went against had a guy like that. You just try to work on your preparation. It really doesn’t matter who’s across from you, as long as you’re prepared you’ll be good. In this league, you’ve got to come prepared, you know what I’m saying? Anybody could become a star on Sunday.”

To say that playing in a new aggressive scheme under new defensive coordinator Todd Bowles – that will feature plenty of press man coverage – excites Davis would be an understatement. That’s the style of defense that Davis and fellow starting cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, Tampa Bay’s first-round pick in 2016, played in college, and the reason why Bucs general manager Jason Licht drafted them in the first place.

Bucs CB Carlton Davis – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I’m very excited about Todd’s scheme, seeing it first hand and talking it through with him the day that Bruce was hired,” Licht said. “He’s got an attacking mentality, the defense is going to attack, it’s a pressure defense and those guys are better suited for that.”

Davis is ready to line up opposite Hargreaves this year and do what they do best.

“Yeah, exactly, so, I mean he’ll come back healthy this year and we’ll be ready to rock,” Davis said. “I’ll expect not a just different, but a more well-groomed defensive backfield. I feel like we got a lot of big things in store.”

Davis finished his rookie season with 36 tackles, four pass breakups and one fumble recovery in 13 starts. But there was one thing that was missing – an interception. That’s going to be Davis’ mindset heading into 2019 – making more plays on the ball.

“Just really taking the ball away,” Davis said. “That’s going to be one of my biggest focuses is taking the ball away, and giving our offenses more chances, and just making more plays overall. As far as tackling, just trying to create more turnovers, honestly.”

The Bucs spent a second-round pick on Davis last year because of his physicality and ability to play press man coverage. Now that he’ll finally be able to play in that style of defense, expect Davis to take a big step in his NFL development in Bowles’ scheme – and for him to create more takeaways for Tampa Bay.