Round 2, welcome Sean Davis

Steelers take defensive back Sean Davis in 2nd round

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers took another step toward overhauling their secondary, taking defensive back Sean Davis out of Maryland in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday night.

http://wtop.com/maryland/2016/04/steelers-take-defensive-back-sean-davis-in-2nd-round/

Steelers attempt to improve the secondary with their first two picks in the draft.

SUPERBOWL!

James C Wexell ‏@jimwexell

Sean Davis on his astounding 213 solo tackles at Maryland: "I think it's just the will to hit."

https://twitter.com/jimwexell?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Better not be a Ratbird fan...

Hawaii 5-0 wrote:

James C Wexell ‏@jimwexell  

Sean Davis on his astounding 213 solo tackles at Maryland: "I think it's just the will to hit."

https://twitter.com/jimwexell?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Steelers already have one of those. We need someone with the will to cover.

Quote :

Dale Lolley ‏@dlolleyor

Carnell Lake said he had Davis rated as his top safety. Not necessarily #Steelers top safety, but his. He likes having cover safety

can't say we're ignoring secondary now. i'm looking forward to next season, we have a lot of young players in the backfield

Fire Arians wrote:

can't say we're ignoring secondary now. i'm looking forward to next season, we have a lot of young players in the backfield

Hope they can learn fast and help contribute this year.....because this year is the best shot at a SB we've had in a while....after this year we have start making more decisions on who to pay

I never saw him mocked earlier than the third so I don't know a lot about him. But mock drafts don't mean shit and he looks promising.

Really like this guy.

BlackAndGold wrote:

Really like this guy.

congrats on having him in your sig mock draft!

STRENGTHS Big, broad frame with absolutely shredded physique. Showed mental toughness. Bounced back from awful Bowling Green game to make numerous plays against South Florida the next week. Has size to battle against move tight ends. Leaps and challenges aggressively on 50/50 throws. Grabbed three interceptions in 2015. Around the ball and in the mix. Posted 298 tackles over three years as a starter. Comes firing downhill with purpose when it is time to get help against the run. Looks to lay the wood to receivers and make them feel it. Second in the nation with five forced fumbles. Has played safety and cornerback.

WEAKNESSES At times, was disastrous in man coverage. Dinged for 614 yards receiving against him. Slow, upright backpedal and clunky when turning to run. Seemed to be too big and lacking in foot quickness needed to play cornerback. Flagged for four pass interferences, a late hit and a personal foul this year. Charged with ten touchdowns allowed over last two seasons. Missed tackle numbers are troubling with 40 over last three years. Allows too much separation and can’t click and close on throws.

DRAFT PROJECTION Rounds 2 or 3

NFL COMPARISON Duke Ihenacho

BOTTOM LINE Miscast this season as an outside cornerback, Davis battled through adversity and bounced back with ball production, tackles and forced fumbles. Davis has the ability to cover, but his strengths would best be utilized at safety where he has fewer man responsibilities and can be deployed near the line of scrimmage a little more often. Davis is an eventual starter at safety and a big backup at cornerback.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/sean-davis?id=2555386

kan_t wrote:

STRENGTHS Big, broad frame with absolutely shredded physique. Showed mental toughness. Bounced back from awful Bowling Green game to make numerous plays against South Florida the next week. Has size to battle against move tight ends. Leaps and challenges aggressively on 50/50 throws. Grabbed three interceptions in 2015. Around the ball and in the mix. Posted 298 tackles over three years as a starter. Comes firing downhill with purpose when it is time to get help against the run. Looks to lay the wood to receivers and make them feel it. Second in the nation with five forced fumbles. Has played safety and cornerback.

WEAKNESSES At times, was disastrous in man coverage. Dinged for 614 yards receiving against him. Slow, upright backpedal and clunky when turning to run. Seemed to be too big and lacking in foot quickness needed to play cornerback. Flagged for four pass interferences, a late hit and a personal foul this year. Charged with ten touchdowns allowed over last two seasons. Missed tackle numbers are troubling with 40 over last three years. Allows too much separation and can’t click and close on throws.

DRAFT PROJECTION Rounds 2 or 3

NFL COMPARISON Duke Ihenacho

BOTTOM LINE Miscast this season as an outside cornerback, Davis battled through adversity and bounced back with ball production, tackles and forced fumbles. Davis has the ability to cover, but his strengths would best be utilized at safety where he has fewer man responsibilities and can be deployed near the line of scrimmage a little more often. Davis is an eventual starter at safety and a big backup at cornerback.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/sean-davis?id=2555386

I like the versatility. Sort of reminds me of that kid Rollins from Miami OH. I also liked reading about him knowing three languages. That suggests to me he's a smart kid and a quick learner.

Welcome. Best wishes for a long, elite, Steelers career.

I like the pick. Big frame, rangy but smooth and efficient in change of direction and tackles everything. I think Darrian Thompson has better coverage awareness and ball skills, but Davis is quicker, a better tackler and former CB.

Definitely see the Steelers want fast and physical defense. Davis brings that. Mitchell has that, but hopefully Davis is better at recognition of the play than Mitchell.

Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Sean Davis, continue building secondary

Jim Wexell



Hard-hitting, athletic safety is Steelers' second-round pick, and Carnell Lake appreciates the brass' attention.

PITTSBURGH -- Sean Davis had always wanted to "go to the U" because his idol, Sean Taylor, had played there.

"He wore No. 21 and his name was Sean," the newest member of the Pittsburgh Steelers said back in February from the NFL Combine.

"Man, I idolized him. I loved everything about him. Real quiet dude just like me."

So it was with great joy then that Davis -- No. 21 at Maryland -- was (intentionally) confused for Taylor when he picked up the phone to talk to the Pittsburgh media Friday night.

The 6-1, 201-pound strong safety from Maryland, the Steelers' second-round draft pick, let out a hearty laugh after being called Sean Taylor.

"Yeah," said the deliriously happy Davis. "Thank you. Thank you."

It's probably what his father, Sean Davis Sr., was saying in the background, as dad watched son discuss a future with the Steelers.

"My dad loves the Steelers," Davis Jr. said. "This is awesome. I couldn't have hoped for anything better. It's the perfect situation."

Born and raised in Washington D.C. as a Redskins fan, Davis said his dad "just loves Coach Tomlin, and there's something about that black and yellow. He's always seen me as a Steeler, for real."

What did dad say?

"Aw, man, I'm lookin' right at him," Davis Jr. said with a laugh. "He might be happier than me. He's got his cool face on, even though I know deep inside he's going crazy."

As was Davis' new boss in Pittsburgh, secondary coach Carnell Lake, who ripped off Davis' astounding Combine numbers off the top of his head.

"He was third in the 20-yard shuttle (3.97) for all defensive backs," Lake said. "He had a 37 1/2 vertical, 21 on the bench, which was second of all defensive backs in the draft. This guy is an exceptional guy. We are excited to have him. He is kind of everything you are looking for when you are talking about versatility for defensive backs."

There were also Davis' 6.64 3-cone time, his 4.46 40, 1.56 10 and a 10-6 broad jump.

Lake was understandably happy to get such an athletic safety, and one who was used at cornerback last season at Maryland, where he finished his career with 306 tackles (213 solos).

"I'm excited," Lake said. "I've been coaching here for six years. It's been a long time, as you know, since we've had a first-rounder. Now, in back-to-back years we've had (that and) two second-round players. It's coming together. It feels good."

Prior to last year's selection of Senquez Golson in the second round, the Steelers had drafted only one player, Curtis Brown, as high as the third round during Lake's tenure as secondary coach.

But Golson, together with this year's first-round choice of Artie Burns, and now Davis, give the team a nucleus upon which to finally reconstruct a secondary that had consisted of veterans throughout the three recent Super Bowls.

Here's Lake's vision for -- and he didn't correct the questioner -- free safety Mike Mitchell and strong safety Davis on the Steelers' back end:

"When you have offenses that spread you out ... to create mismatches," Lake said, "they will put a player like (Rob) Gronkowski out wide and force you to match up with either a linebacker or a safety on Gronkowski. Well, you have to have a guy that has the size and can cover. He provides that coverage for us. That's one of the exciting parts of Sean Davis that we like."

A baseball star in high school, Davis didn't play football until his junior year. As a freshman at Maryland, he started only two games, but the next year, 2013, he started all 13 games at free safety.

In 2014, as a junior, Davis started 11 games at free safety and two at cornerback, and then was moved to cornerback for his entire his senior season.

Overall, Davis intercepted five passes and forced seven fumbles. He also has another pretty good stat on his resume...

to read rest of article:

http://www.scout.com/nfl/steelers/story/1665638-carnell-lake-its-coming-together?preview=true

Kid looks good, not gonna lie. Good ball skills, hits bigger than he is.

He seems like a perfect SS fit to the Steelers. He clearly has his limit (coverage) but the Steelers don't need him to be a center fielder.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Kid looks good, not gonna lie. Good ball skills, hits bigger than he is.

I watched his Combine field drills last night. He's got a thick frame and wide shoulders, so looks bigger than his weight leads you to believe. First thing my son said was " yeah, he's a big safety".

Pete Prisco ✔‎@PriscoCBS

Kevin Colbert does it again. Sean Davis is a damn good safety. He will be a perfect pick for the Steelers. Grade: A+

3:19 PM - 29 Apr 2016

And a 21 rep bench makes one tough dude in the back end of the secondary.

Finally..I was hoping we snagged this Kid...finally threw that BPA shit out of the window and addressed needs.