Philadelphia Eagles Draft | Corey Davis Scouting Report

Continuing our extended look at potential Philadelphia Eagles‘ draft targets, we turn to Western Michigan WR Corey Davis.

Don’t worry, we hadn’t heard of Western Michigan before this year, either. The Broncos were nothing but another MAC team that occasionally popped up on a B1G powerhouse’s schedule. Then the platitude-spouting, necktie-wearing, boat-rowing lightning ball that is head coach P.J. Fleck arrived, and dynamic recruiting began: the biggest get of Fleck’s tenure at Western? Wide receiver Corey Davis.

Davis’ story is a good one: you can read more about it here. Monday Morning QB also did a stellar article. Suffice to say, it takes something special to be talked about as the best WR prospect in the nation and a potential top-10 pick. And that’s exactly what Corey Davis is: the best WR prospect in the nation, a potential top-10 pick, and something pretty darn special.

Strengths

CD checks every box for me, with only one or two nit-picky flaws. But, beginning with his strengths, his acceleration boggles my mind, especially for a man 6’2 and north of 200 pounds. Watch him turn upfield twice on this 3rd and 23 catch and run. Rare burst, especially for a man of his stature.

Add his vision/intelligence as a runner, as well as elite balance, and you have a YAC monster–few receivers do as much damage in the open field as Davis. He knows how to sink his hips into spins and cuts, explode, and finish runs physically. He picks up about 18 more yards here than he should have.

Speaking of finishing runs physically, I had no idea CD was as strong of a prospect as he is, until I really got deep into the film with him. He has a great punch with his arms at the top of routes that allows him to instantly create separation from smaller DBs, and he can fight through tight coverage. But not only can he hit–I think he loves to. I audibly chortled after I watched this play:

Brutal. On a more serious note, his ability to battle through contact means he’s tough to play physically, as many defenders might try with a speedster like Davis. He won’t threaten as much in the red zone with jump balls (more on that later) but he can do this:

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This draws a flag, of course, but watch the power in his lower body as he leans through the contact and drives his feet. He really plays like a running back in a wide receiver’s body, running with leverage, cutting and weaving, always fighting for extra yardage. He doesn’t have nearly the same catch radius as Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.–though Davis’ hand size could get close to OBJ’s–but they have similar YAC abilities. Davis is that elusive and explosive.

Now, Davis can create separation with his surprising physicality, but he often doesn’t need to, due to his stellar route running. Remember those low hips I mentioned earlier? Davis sinks into his cuts like an elite NFL WR, allowing him to stop on a dime and change direction effortlessly–a lot of college athletes can’t and don’t do this on Davis’ level. Given his NFL-caliber routes, his size as a target, and YAC ability, Davis threatens all three passing levels of the field: short, intermediate, and deep. You can see the low hips in the clip directly above, but watch the routes he runs here:

Outside shake with a swim move. Nice.

This upcoming route is called a post corner–faking the in-breaking post to get the DB’s hips turned, then cutting right back, breaking out to the corner. Davis runs it perfectly–look at all that separation. The defender only closes the gap because of the terrible underthrow.

Davis undoubtedly has the most advanced route tree I’ve scouted this year, and he runs those routes with precision, understanding of the way they fit into the play scheme. Plainly, we have a tall, long receiver with elite quickness, strong second-level speed, and advanced route-running. On top of that, he isn’t afraid to be physical, and often wins when he is.

Weaknesses

But not everything can be perfect, can it?

Davis doesn’t have the best hands in this class–and I know, Philadelphia fans may hear that and go berserk, but hold on a second. Davis routinely makes catches away from his body–remember, his hand size will test well at the Combine. I’ve never seen him make an “easy” drop, save for the Buffalo game, when it was snowing, windy, and sub-20 degrees. Also, plenty of his drops come because Western Michigan’s quarterback Zach Terrell throws with a little too much mustard on short routes.

But for his size and length, his catch radius isn’t huge. This is my second issue with Davis, and it may seem specific, but it has big ramifications: Davis struggles with high-pointing the football. He doesn’t like to elevate for catches and would rather let deep balls drop into a basket than reach over his head.

When Davis works across the middle, the problem doesn’t present itself nearly as much. This play here is straight fearless:

However, on go routes or fades, he doesn’t attack the football, he lets it drop. Watch the post-corner route above again, also against Central Michigan. Again, awful underthrow, but I want a 6’2 receiver to get physical with the corner and out-leap him for it. Davis doesn’t like to leave his feet, and rather positions himself for a fair-catch sort of reception.

I’m not entirely secure in this evaluation, because of how few balls actually reach the apex of Davis’ height–constantly, he has to slow down and adjust to underthrows.

This is a perfect example. Davis has a clear step on the corner, but once the camera gets to him, you can see him decelerate hard, trying to keep his body between the corner and the ball. That’s textbook, that’s well done. But instead of leveraging that position, sticking a foot in the ground, and leaping for this ball, Davis lets it fall into his chest, where the corner can make a play. I would have liked to see him transition from a WR trying to catch a bomb in stride to a WR playing a jump ball here. But that’s not his strength.

Conclusion:

Davis is a complete receiver. He can make plays at all three levels of the field, do damage after the catch, and block well. His acceleration, route running, and straight line speed are all elite; his physicality and hands, pro-level at the worst. While he may not be built for back-shoulder fades in the end zone, he is built for this:

Boy oh boy that’s exciting.

Corey Davis has a grade of 7.2 from me. He’s my #9 overall prospect and my WR1 in the 2017 NFL Draft. You can check out my Top 100 rankings here.

Next: This Season, Jordan Hicks Became A Star

Games watched:

vs. Central Michigan; vs. Eastern Michigan; vs. Ball State; vs. Buffalo; vs. Ohio; vs. Wisconsin; vs. Georgia Southern (2016)

vs. Michigan State; vs. Middle Tennessee; vs. Bowling Green (2015)

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