Jarrad Davis

This offseason produced much uncertainty for Davis' role. Not only did the team bring in a former Pro Bowl linebacker in Jamie Collins, but they also brought in a middle-linebacker type in Reggie Ragland and declined to pick up Davis's fifth-year option for 2021. However, coach Matt Patricia talked glowingly of Davis this offseason despite his disappointing 2019 campaign in which the linebacker struggled in three critical areas: finishing tackles, defending the pass and staying healthy. While it's possible that Davis could improve in each of those areas, the real hope for his development might lie in Patricia's ability to put Davis in better situations relative to his skill set. With Ragland and Collins around, moving Davis around the formation may be a tad easier than it was last year. In the end, though, the presence of those players might also limit Davis' tackling output, and a return to triple-digit numbers for Davis might not be in the cards in 2020.

Davis, at just 23 years old, became the unquestioned leader of the Lions defense in 2018 and finished the year improving upon nearly every statistical category from his rookie season, totaling 100 tackles (including 10 for loss), six sacks and five pass breakups over 16 games. His play, along with the rest of his teammates', particularly picked up after the mid-season addition of defensive tackle Damon Harrison from the Giants. With Harrison back for another year and ready to wreak havoc alongside Trey Flowers, Mike Daniels and A'Shawn Robinson, opposing offensive linemen could continue to have a hard time getting hands on Davis. Coupled with his improvement in pass coverage - and as a pass rusher - the only issue in drafting Davis is that he's expected to miss a few weeks due to a preseason ankle injury. The fact he wasn't even placed on the PUP list all but confirms it wasn't a serious injury, and this situation could make him a bargain on draft day.

Davis missed time with a concussion last year and might have some growing pains as a second-year player in a three-down role, but he held up as well as anyone could ask as a rookie, and a step forward in 2018 is plausible. Davis' athleticism is above average at linebacker (4.56 40), and his per-snap production last year was encouraging. That his 2017 production was accumulated on just 830 snaps means Davis is likely underpriced in a lot of leagues – he already has a season with a 116-tackle pace (per 1,000 snaps) in the books, and he's only 22 years old.

The Lions chose Davis with the 21st overall pick with plans to immediately insert him into the starting lineup. The Florida product, who's skilled against the run game and in coverage, will take over at middle linebacker and could immediately command IDP relevance. In the same role last season, Tahir Whitehead recorded 132 tackles and five deflected passes.